US job openings rise to 11.24M in July, above expectation

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) – Job openings in the US increased to 11.24 million in July, above the market expectation of 10.47 million.

The figure is almost a 200,000 increase from the approximately 11.04 million in June, while the rate of job openings stood at 6.9% in July, according to the Labor Department figures released Tuesday.

The largest increase in job openings was in transportation, warehousing and utilities with 81,000, while durable goods manufacturing saw openings decline by 47,000.

The number of hires and its rate saw little change at 6.4 million and 4.2%, respectively.

Total separations, which include employees leaving, layoffs and discharges, came in at 5.9 million.

Around 4.2 million people left their jobs during the month of July, according to the figures.

The survey measures job vacancies by collecting data from employers about employment, job openings, hiring and separations.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, considers job openings as all positions that are open or not filled on the last business day of the month when the survey is done.