(The Hill) - The number of job openings decreased by more in July than economists were expecting as the labor market recalibrates in response to President Trump’s trade war and immigration crackdown.

Open jobs in the monthly JOLTS survey fell to a rounded 7.2 million, down from 7.4 million in June, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Economic forecasts for the report ranged from 7.3 to 7.5 million.

The drop marks the first time unemployed Americans have outnumbered available jobs since 2021. There are currently 7.24 million jobs seekers, and 7.18 million open positions.

“The July JOLTS report showed further signs of softening labor market conditions,” Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a commentary. “The job openings-to-unemployed ratio fell belo

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