US job openings rise to record 10.9 million in July

US job openings raced to a new record high in July, suggesting that last month's sharp slowdown in hiring was due to employers being unable to find workers rather than weak demand for labor.

Job openings, a measure of labor demand, jumped 749,000 to 10.9 million on the last day of July, the highest level since the series began in December 2000, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Wednesday. Hiring was little changed at 6.7 million.

The government reported last Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by only 235,000 jobs in August, the smallest gain since January, after surging 1.053 million in July.