The number of job openings in the United States decreased to 8.8 million in July, the lowest level it has been in more than two years.

The new numbers, which look at openings across all sectors for that month, were released as part of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, which was updated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday. The decrease is notable and marks the lowest level of job openings since March 2021.

The decline is also notable because most economists had actually expected job openings to tick up a bit in July after tumbling the month before.

The falling number of openings is a sign that the labor market, which has held up despite a series of major threats over the past two years, might be starting to take a hit from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes, which the labor market has been surprisingly resilient to.

SMALL BUSINESSES HELPLESS OVER SPIKE IN RETAIL THEFTS, SAY THEY FEEL ABANDONED BY LAWMAKERS

The numbers come ahead of the much-anticipated August employment report, which is set to be released on Friday. The economy added 187,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate inched down to an ultra-low 3.5%.

The strong labor market has given the Fed more ammunition to keep tightening monetary policy. Many economists had thought that the rate hikes would have caused an economic downturn in the U.S. by now, although the economy is chugging right along.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell last week in his annual Jackson Hole speech warned more interest rate hikes are possible but added the central bank will “proceed carefully” when deciding its next steps. He attempted to walk a fine line between suggesting rate hikes are winding down and hinting that more are on the way in order to give the Fed flexibility.

“At upcoming meetings, we will assess our progress based on the totality of the data and the evolving outlook and risks,” Powell said. “Based on this assessment, we will proceed carefully as we decide whether to tighten further or, instead, to hold the policy rate constant and await further data.”

The Fed has been raising rates to drive inflation down and the effort has been working, although inflation is still too high for the central bank’s liking, particularly core inflation, which is less volatile and strips out food and energy from the equation.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Headline inflation, as gauged by the consumer price index, is now hovering at 3.2% — still above the Fed’s goal of 2% long-run inflation.

The Fed’s next interest rate decision will come following its meeting in late September.