US job openings fell 0.7% in May

WASHINGTON (AP) — Job openings posted by U.S. employers slipped 0.7% in May, while hires that month tumbled 4.4% in a sign that the job market may be cooling slightly.

The Labor Department says employers posted 7.3 million jobs in May. They hired 5.7 million, down from the record 6 million achieved in April.

The report — known as job openings and labor turnover survey — suggests that employers remain optimistic about economic growth, just that their pace of expected hiring has slowed somewhat after more than a decade of economic expansion has pushed down the jobless rate. The number of job openings has declined from a record 7.6 million.

On Friday, the government said employers added 224,000 jobs in June as the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 3.7%.