Durable goods manufacturing drove a rebound in U.S. job openings in July, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data released September 1.

Job vacancies rose by 89,000 to 7.27 million, up from a downwardly revised 7.18 million in June. The figure came in slightly below the consensus estimate of 7.3 million. Openings remain a bit above pre-pandemic levels, indicating relatively stable demand for labor even as overall payroll growth has been modest this year.

The largest gains came in durable goods manufacturing (up 76,000), followed by healthcare and social assistance (54,000), wholesale trade (50,000), and construction (28,000). Declines were recorded mainly in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (down 67,000) and professional and business services (65,000).

Hiring itself was little changed at 5.1 million, while layoffs and discharges held steady at 1.7 million. The number of workers quitting their jobs fell by 157,000 to 3.06 million, pushing the quits rate down to 1.9 percent—the lowest since 2020.

The unemployment rate stands at 4.1 percent. Economists note that limited labor-force growth, elevated retirements, and low immigration have constrained the supply of workers, helping keep the jobless rate low even with subdued monthly job gains.