Job openings rise more than expected to a record high
Economists had forecast that the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey would show there were 5.63 million openings, up slightly month-on-month, according to Bloomberg.
The quits rate rose to 2.1%, matching the recent high reached in February and March, but short of the cycle high of 2.2% hit last December.
This rate is an indicator of how confident people are in finding new jobs soon after they resign, and is a preferred metric by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen.
There were 1.6 million layoffs and discharges in July, little changed from June and at a 1.1% rate.
The record number of job openings is one of the most cited statistics to demonstrate the labor-market's strength, as employers have not been able to find enough skilled workers to fill the positions.