US job openings fell to 7.44 million in June, slipping below economists’ expectations for 7.50 million and down from a revised 7.71 million in May, the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed. The openings rate eased to 4.4 % from 4.6 %, extending a gradual pullback in demand for workers that has kept overall vacancies in a tight range for the past year. Hiring also slowed, with 5.2 million positions filled, while quits held at 3.1 million, leaving the quits rate unchanged at 2.0 %. Layoffs were little changed at 1.6 million, illustrating employers’ continued reluctance to shed staff even as recruitment cools. There were 1.06 vacancies for every unemployed worker, virtually steady from May and roughly half the peak reached in 2022. The figures reinforce the picture of a ‘slow-to-hire, slow-to-fire’ labor market, supporting expectations that the Federal Reserve can wait for clearer evidence on inflation and growth before adjusting interest rates. Markets continue to price in the possibility of a policy easing later this year if the cooling trend persists.