The number of job openings declined by 338,000 from the previous month to 8.827 million in July 2023, marking the lowest level since March 2021 and falling below the market consensus of 9.465 million. It also represented the third consecutive month of decline in job openings, indicating that the labor market is gradually slowing after months of unprecedented monetary policy tightening by the Fed. The level of job openings decreased in professional and business services (-198,000); health care and social assistance (-130,000); state and local government, excluding education (-67,000); state and local government education (-62,000); and federal government (-27,000). In contrast, there were increases in information (+101,000) as well as in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+75,000). Regarding regional distribution, job openings declined in the South (-356,000) and the Midwest (-69,000), while they rose in the West (+57,000) and the Northeast (+29,000).
