U.S. employers posted fewer jobs in July

U.S. employers posted fewer jobs in July than in June, further evidence that hiring may stay weak in the coming months.

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

The data 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 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 post-recession high of 7 to 1 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 say they can't find 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.

Jeff Joerres, chief executive of ManpowerGroup, an employment services firm, said those trends are making even healthy companies reluctant to hire.

"It's all I hear about," he said. Some of his company's clients say, "Our business is good, but we're worried," he added.

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