Job openings fall slightly to 9.6 million. U.S. labor market still tight.

As the Federal Reserve continues trying to ease inflation, it’s looking for job openings to slow down a bit as a sign the labor market isn’t so hot. Job openings in June are still somewhat high, but down from the peak of 12 million last year.

The number of people who quit their jobs fell to 3.8 million in June from 4 million in May. People quit more often when they think they can easily find another job.

Key details: Job openings rose the most in health care and social assistance. There was also an increase in state and local government positions.

Job listings declined in transportation and warehousing.

Economists use the number of job listings as a sign of the health of the labor market, even if those positions are never filled.

The rate people are quitting in the private sector decreased to 2.7% in June from 2.9% in May.

People quit more often when they think they can easily find another job, and they’re less likely to quit when the economy weakens.

The U.S. is expected to add 200,000 jobs in July. The July jobs report is released on Friday.

Big picture: The Fed is looking to control inflation, and a tight labor market, in which there are too many jobs and not enough workers, makes that more difficult.

June’s slight drop in job openings is unlikely to give much comfort to the Fed, but the decline in listings since last year indicates the labor market is slowly cooling off.

Looking ahead: “This is a small step in the right direction in terms of signals that the labor market may be coming into better balance,” said Katherine Judge, senior economist at CIBC Economics.

Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.07%
and S&P 500
SPX,
-0.39%
were mixed in Tuesday trading.