Key Takeaways
- U.S. employers had 7.4 million job openings in June, down from 7.7 million in May.
- The report was slightly lower than forecasters’ expectations.
- The labor market has slowed in recent months, dragged down by tariffs and high interest rates, though employers have avoided mass layoffs.
The job market sputtered along in June, staying in its recent low-hiring, low-firing limbo as tariffs and high interest rates weigh on the economy.
U.S. employers had 7.4 million job openings in June, down from 7.7 million in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday. The figure was slightly lower than 7.5 million forecasters expected, according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
Tuesdays report added detail to the bureaus payroll report, which showed the economyadded more jobs than expected. The unemployment rate fell, mainly due to an uptick in local government and education employment.
President Donald Trumps unpredictable trade war has weighed on the economy in recent months. Uncertainty about trade policy has led businesses to hold off on investment and hiring decisions. Trumps wide-ranging new import taxes have also increased business costs and dragged on consumer spending. High borrowing costs on all kinds of loans, the result of the Federal Reserves battle against inflation, are also slowing down the economy.
Still, employers have held on to their existing workforces, avoiding mass layoffs. Trade policy uncertainty has fallen in recent weeks after the Trump administration signed several framework trade deals with major trading partners. Many forecasters expect the economy to avoid a recession at least in the near future.
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