Job openings hit 10.9M, fifth straight record high

The number of job openings in the U.S. hit a record high for a fifth straight month in July as employers continued to have difficulty finding workers. 

The total number of job openings rose by 749,000 to a seasonally adjusted 10.934 million at the end of July, according to the Labor Department’s Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS. The number of job openings in June was revised higher by 112,000 to 10.185 million. 

Economists surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting 10 million available jobs. 

The number of hires held at 6.7 million in July with decreases in retail trade (-277,000), durable goods manufacturing (-41,000) and educational services (-23,000).