The number of job openings in the United States declined to 7.67 million in July, down from 7.91 million in June and 8.81 million a year earlier.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released these figures Wednesday (Sept. 4) in a press release and table about its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary.

The number of U.S. job openings in July was the lowest since the start of 2021, signaling slowing demand for workers, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The figure was lower than the estimates of all the economists surveyed by the media outlet, according to the report.

Stuart Paul, U.S. economist at Bloomberg Economics, said in the report: “With layoffs and unemployment increasing amid a decline in job openings, the balance of labor supply and demand is shifting to show more pronounced weakness in the labor market. Ultimately, that should allow underlying wage and inflation pressures to wane.”

The number of job openings also fell short of the figure expected by economists surveyed by Reuters. They had forecast 8.1 million job openings, Reuters reported Wednesday.

In that report, Reuters said the data suggested that “the labor market is not cratering, but slowing in an orderly manner.”

The greatest decreases in job openings in July were in healthcare and social assistance; state and local government, excluding education; and transportation, warehousing and utilities, according to the BLS press release. Those figures were down by 187,000, 101,000 and 88,000, respectively.

At the same time, there were 178,000 more job openings in professional and business services and 28,000 more in federal government, per the release.

The BLS gauged the number of hires in July at 5.5 million, which was little changed from the previous month. By sector, there were 156,000 more hires in accommodation and food services but 8,000 fewer in federal government.

The number of total separations in July increased to 5.4 million, a figure that was 336,000 higher than that of June. The number of quits and the number of layoffs and discharges were little changed, while the number of other separations increased by 71,000, according to the release.

The Conference Board said Aug. 27 that consumers’ outlook on the labor market has dimmed.

The percentage of consumers viewing jobs as “plentiful” decreased, while those finding jobs “hard to get” inched up, the organization said in its Consumer Confidence Index.