US job openings, hires and separations were little changed in July compared to the previous month, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. However, the number of job openings in July edged up to a new series high of 6.9 million according to the updated numbers.
The job openings rate — a measure of job openings compared with total employment — was 4.4% in July, unchanged from June but up from 4.1% in July 2017.
The BLS report also measures the “quits” portion of separations, where workers leave a job voluntarily. Quits were little changed in July at 3.6 million. The quits rate was 2.4%.
Bloomberg reported the biggest share of workers since 2001 quit their positions, adding to signs of labor-market strength that may push wages higher. Job postings exceeded the number of unemployed people by 659,000 in July.
Job Openings, Hires and Separations for July 2018 (000s)
| July 2017 | June 2018 | July 2018 | m/m change | m/m% change | y/y change | y/y % change | |
| Job openings | 6,202 | 6,822 | 6,939 | 117 | 1.7% | 737 | 11.9% |
| Hires | 5,498 | 5,677 | 5,679 | 2 | 0.0% | 181 | 3.3% |
| Total separations | 5,406 | 5,514 | 5,534 | 20 | 0.4% | 128 | 2.4% |
Job Openings, Hires and Separations rates for July 2018
| Job openings | 4.1% | 4.4% | 4.4% | 0 bps | – | 30 bps | – |
| Hires | 3.7% | 3.8% | 3.8% | 0 bps | – | 10 bps | – |
| Total separations | 3.7% | 3.7% | 3.7% | 0 bps | – | 0 bps | – |
| Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics; bps=basis points | |||||||