Job openings fell by almost half a million in May after a jump the month before, 🎃returning to their pattern of steady declines as the tight labor market loosens.

The Labor Department reported 9.8 million positions were available at the end of May, a dip of 496,000 from April. It was the fourth monthly drop this yearꩲ and the second-fewest openings in more🌼 than two years.

The sectors with the largest decreases in open positions were health care and social assistance (down 285,000) and finance and insurance (down 139,000). Openings iꦚncreased in educational services (45,000 jobs), state and local government education (37,000 jobs), and the federal government (24,000 jobs).

The number of those who left their jobs rose by 250,000 to 4 million. Health care and social assistance (up by 69,000) a😼nd construction (up by 57,000) businesses had the largest increases in quits.

The monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, also known as JOLTS, surveys more than 20,000 businesses and government offices to estimate the numbers of U.S. job vacancies, hires, and separations included in the report. The separations are further separated into people who quit, and layoffs. Other types of separations, including deaths and retirements, are also included. The number of vacancies is a widely followed indicator of labor demand.