Job openings shrink to lowest level since January 2021 as labor market cools | CNN Business

CNN
 — 

The number of available jobs in the US continued to shrink in July, an indication that demand for workers continues to wane amid a cooling labor market.

Job openings fell in July for the second consecutive month to an estimated 7.67 million, from 7.91 million in June, according to new data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That’s the lowest number of openings since January 2021.

Economists were expecting that the July postings would total 8.1 million, according to FactSet consensus estimates.

Wednesday’s data is the first in a series of critically important economic metrics released this week about the US labor market, culminating with the Friday jobs report. With a hotly anticipated rate cut just two weeks away, Wall Street and Main Street are intently focused on whether a weakening labor market could mean a jumbo-sized cut.

This story is developing and will be updated.