US Job Openings Fall in June Amid Sharp Healthcare Sector Slump

US job openings fell by 178,000 to 7.359 million on the final day of June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Labor Department stated on Tuesday.

A decline of 147,000 in healthcare and social assistance openings drove the drop, as per Reuters.

A Reuters poll of economists had forecast 7.400 million unfilled positions for June. Despite the drop, the overall labour market remains stable.

Economists continue to view the market as remaining in a "slow-hire, slow-fire" mode, which they expect should allow the Federal Reserve to target inflation.

Hiring and Layoffs Steady

June hiring rose by 96,000 to reach 5.348 million, lifting the hiring rate to 3.4% from May's 3.3%. Meanwhile, the job openings rate dipped to 4.4% from the 4.5% recorded in May.

Layoffs and discharges remained virtually unchanged at 1.766 million, holding the rate steady at 1.1%.

Some economists advise caution with the JOLTS data, pointing to a sharp drop in the survey's response rate, as per Reuters.

Fed Policy and Outlook

The US Federal Reserve kept its key overnight interest rate within the 3.50%-3.75% range last week. Three members of the policy-setting committee dissented, supporting a quarter-percentage-point hike instead.

According to a Reuters survey, economists estimate that nonfarm payrolls grew by 80,000 jobs in July, following a 57,000 increase in June.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the July employment report on Friday, with the jobless rate projected to remain flat at 4.2%.

However, there is a risk the unemployment rate could edge higher. A Conference Board survey showed that fewer consumers viewed jobs as "plentiful" in July, with the metric hitting its lowest mark since February 2021, as per Reuters.