A government report released Tuesday found there were one million fewer job openings in August than in July.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that job openings fell from 11.17 million in July to 10.05 million in August, a 10% decline. It was the biggest one-month decline since April 2020.

In July, there were at least two openings per worker compared to 1.67 in August.

The largest fall in job openings were in health care and social assistance, other services and retail.

The number of workers who voluntarily quit rose 100,000 to 4.16 million.

Employers have slowed hiring this year amid rising costs, gas price spikes and Federal Reserve interest rate hikes intended to stifle inflation. Nonetheless, there were positive employment signs. In August, unemployment claims fell to a five-month low and employers continue to hire at a steady rate.

Walmart (WMT) recently announced plans to hire 40,000 workers ahead of the holidays. Meanwhile, companies such as Google (GOOG) and Goldman Sachs Group (GS) have shut some operations, shifted employees or laidoff workers.

In August, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a law meant to boost domestic energy production while lowering energy and healthcare costs and reducing national debt.

The White House believes the new law will also create jobs in the manufacturing and energy industries.

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