Investing.com -- US job openings were lower than anticipated in July, in a sign of an ongoing, but gradual, slowdown in the labor market in the world's largest economy.
Job openings, a proxy for labor demand, fell to 7.673 million on the last business day of July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, report.
Economists had projected a return of 8.090 million.
The June figure was revised downward to 7.910 million from 8.184 million.
Wednesday's reading serves as a precursor to the publication of the much-anticipated nonfarm payrolls report due out on Friday. The data will likely play into how Fed Chair Jerome Powell approaches an expected shift away from a focus on taming inflation to preparations aimed at guarding against job losses.
Powell said in August that the "time has come" to adjust monetary policy due to potential "downside risks" facing the US jobs picture.
According to the CME's closely-monitored FedWatch Tool, analysts are all but convinced the Fed will roll out a 25-basis point reduction in borrowing costs at the central bank's upcoming two-day gathering from Sept. 17-18. Interest rates currently stand at a 23-year high of 5.25% to 5.5%.