According to Tuesday’s Labor Department report, job opportunities declined dramatically in August. Hiring also dropped and workers leaving their jobs reached the highest point since the late 2000s.

According to the Department’s Labor Turnover Survey and Job Openings Survey, employment vacancies decreased to 10.44 millions in July, which is a decrease of 659,000 over the 11.1 million that was revised upwardly. Federal Reserve officials closely monitor the JOLTS reports for indications of weakness in the labor market.

FactSet reported that the market expected 10.96 Million openings.

In August, 6.6% of workers posted jobs compared to 7% in July. The economy still struggled to overcome the Covid downturn and this level is just 4.4% today.

However, the number of quits reached a record high in December 2000 when 4.3 million people left their jobs. This rate increased to 2.9% from one month earlier, an increase that was 242,000. Workers who are confident in their ability to find work elsewhere are known as quits.

There were 892,000 people who lost their jobs in the accommodation and food service industries, and 721,000 in retail. 534,000 also left in health care.

The monthly increase in nonfarm payrolls was 366,000. This month saw hires fall by 439,000. A plunge in hospitality and leisure caused the 4.3% drop in hires. Sectors that were hardest hit by pandemics saw their hiring drop of 233,000. The rate dropped to 7.9%, from 9.5% in July.

The month saw a sharp drop in government hiring, from 2.2% to 1.4%.

Although the JOLTS data is a month behind that of the nonfarm payrolls, it still has weight at Fed. Officials at the Fed are considering whether they will begin to withdraw the extraordinary policy assistance that was provided by the central bank during the pandemic. They are also expected to reduce monthly bond purchases later in the year.

Fed officials however have said that they won’t increase interest rates until the labor force is stronger.