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Job openings and hiring hold steady as 'low hire, low fire' market drags on

finance.yahoo.com • September 29, 2026 • business

Key Points:

Job openings in August slightly declined to 7.1 million from a revised 7.3 million in July, with the job openings rate falling to 4.3% from 4.4%.
Hiring remained steady in August, with 5.2 million workers finding new positions, indicating a stable labor market.
Layoffs and voluntary job separations were unchanged at about 1.6 million (1%) and 3.1 million (1.9%), respectively, reflecting a balanced job turnover.
The Labor Department’s data points to a "low hire, low fire" job market, suggesting ongoing cautiousness among employers.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the September payroll report soon, with economists forecasting an increase of 90,000 jobs.