U.S. employers posted fewer open jobs in July

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers posted fewer jobs in July than in June, the latest evidence that hiring is weak.

Job openings fell to a seasonally adjusted 3.67 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That down from June’s 3.72 million job openings, which was revised lower.

The figures follow Friday’s disappointing employment report, which said the economy added only 96,000 jobs in August. That’s below July’s total of 141,000 and the average 226,000 a month added in the first three months of the year. The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent, but only because the number of people working or looking for work fell.

The drop in available positions has made job hunting more competitive. Nearly 12.8 million people were unemployed in July, meaning 3.5 people were competing for each open position. While that’s down from a peak of nearly 7 to 1 just after the recession ended in July 2009, in a healthy economy the ratio is usually 2 to 1.

Job openings have increased 68 percent from 2.2 million over the past three years. But companies aren’t filling them quickly. Total hiring has increased only 11 percent in that stretch.

There are several reasons companies aren’t hiring faster, economists say. Companies may not be offering sufficient pay to entice workers to take the jobs. Some employers say they can’t find enough skilled workers in certain industries, such as information technology.

Businesses are also worried about Europe’s financial crisis, slowing growth in China and the pending expiration of tax breaks in the United States.

Employers are still posting fewer jobs than before the recession, when they advertised about 4.4 million a month.

In July, the number of available jobs fell in manufacturing, health care, and professional and business services, a category that includes engineers, accountants and lawyers.