(Oct 1): US job openings rose in August to a three-month high, a development at odds with other data indicating slowing demand for workers.

Available positions increased to 8.04 million from a revised 7.71 million reading in July, led by the construction and state and local government sectors, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed on Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 7.69 million openings.

The hiring rate declined to 3.3%, matching the lowest reading since 2013, excluding the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The rate of layoffs also fell to 1%.

Despite the increase in openings, other recent data showed employers had pulled back on hiring. Federal Reserve (Fed) officials cut interest rates by 50 basis points in their September meeting in part to guard against a further slowdown, and have said they could authorise another half-point cut in November if weakness continues.

The government’s September employment report, due Friday, is expected to show the pace of hiring picked up slightly, and the unemployment rate held steady last month, according to the median estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

US stocks extended losses and Treasury yields remained lower after the release.

The number of vacancies per unemployed worker, a ratio the Fed watches closely, held near a three-year low at 1.1. At its peak in 2022, the ratio was two to one.

The decline in hiring was led by the retail trade and transportation and warehousing sectors.

The so-called quits rate, which measures the percentage of people voluntarily leaving their jobs each month, fell to 1.9%, the lowest since June 2020. That suggests people are less confident in their ability to find a new position than they were a couple years ago.