Hiring managers are paralyzed

U.S. employers posted 7.2 million job vacancies in July as the American labor market continues to cool.

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that job openings fell from 7.4 million in June and came in modestly below what economists had forecast. Healthcare and social assistance companies cut openings

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed that layoffs rose slightly. The number of Americans quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their ability to find better pay, opportunities or working conditions elsewhere — was unchanged from June at 3.2 million.

Jobs openings remain at healthy levels but have fallen steadily since peaking at a record 12.1 million in March 2022 as the U.S. economy roared back from COVID-19 lockdowns.

The U.S. job market has lost momentum this year, partly because of the lingering effects of 11 interest rate hikes

On Friday, the Labor Department will put out unemployment and hiring numbers for August. They are expected to show that businesses, government agencies and nonprofits added nearly 80,000 jobs last month, according to a survey of forecasters

Worse than the lackluster July hiring figures were Labor Department revisions that slashed a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls. A furious Trump responded to the bad numbers

So far this year, the economy has been generating 85,000 jobs a month, down from 168,000 last year and an average 400,000 a month during the hiring boom of 2021-2023.

In a time of uncertainty, employers are less likely to hire, but they’re not letting workers go either.

In a social media post Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal