The number of job openings increased to 5.9 million on the last business day of July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires and separations were little changed at 5.2 million and 4.9 million, respectively. Within separations, the quits rate was 2.1 percent and the layoffs and discharges rate was 1.1 percent. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry and by four geographic regions.

On the last business day of July, there were 5.9 million job openings, an increase of 228,000 from June. The job openings rate was 3.9 percent in July. The number of job openings increased over the month for total private (+243,000) and was little changed for government. Job openings increased in professional and business services (+166,000) and durable goods manufacturing (+27,000) but decreased in health care and social assistance (-63,000). The number of job openings was little changed in all four regions.