Story perspectives

U.S. Job Openings Slip as TPS Ends, Foreign Labor Shrinks

8/5/2026

Summary

U.S. Jobs Slip

U.S. job openings fell to 7.36 million in June, down from 7.54 million in May.
Layoffs remained at 1.8 million while quits rose slightly, indicating continued worker confidence.
FactSet expects July to show 100,000 job gains and 4.2 percent unemployment, while economists say the break-even hiring rate may near zero as slower immigration and Baby Boomer retirements shrink the labor pool.

Summary

US Ends TPS

The United States ended Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Haiti and six other nations, cutting foreign-born labor.
Federal job openings grew by 39,000 in June while state and local vacancies fell by 29,000.
Transportation, warehousing and utilities postings rose by 97,000, the sector gain in JOLTS data, prompting economist Sneha Puri to warn that the healthcare sector is vulnerable as foreign-born labor pool shrinks.

History

Historical Context

Reagan’s Immigration Reform and Control Act, signed on November 6 1986, legalized about 2.7 million undocumented workers and imposed employer sanctions. Although illegal immigration fell briefly, the undocumented population grew from 5 million in 1986 to over 11 million by 2013, reshaping the labor pool. Today’s drop in JOLTS openings and the end of Haitian TPS echo the act’s lasting labor-supply impact.

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U.S. Jobs Slip

U.S. job openings fell to 7.36 million in June, down from 7.54 million in May.
Layoffs remained at 1.8 million while quits rose slightly, indicating continued worker confidence.
FactSet expects July to show 100,000 job gains and 4.2 percent unemployment, while economists say the break-even hiring rate may near zero as slower immigration and Baby Boomer retirements shrink the labor pool.

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