The dog days of summer are coming to an end, and the labor market is already experiencing a frost.

Employers reported a decline in job openings in July, while all other turnover including hiring and separations stagnated from June, according to Wednesday’s job openings and labor turnover survey (JOLTS) data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Let’s take a closer look.

Diving into the data. Employers reported 7.2 million job openings in July, down from 7.4 million in June. Meanwhile, organizations made 5.3 million hires, and saw 3.2 million quits and 1.8 million layoffs and discharges in July, all unchanged from June. “Employer cautiousness continues,” Rajesh Namboothiry, SVP at Manpower US, told HR Brew. “They’re not hiring, but they’re not firing either.”

Zoom out. HR and TA leaders should expect sluggish turnover to continue in the coming months. While expected interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve later this month could stimulate some business activity and boost hiring, other challenges—including tariffs driving up business costs and declining consumer spending—will likely force businesses to continue their trepidatious approach.

For more on what HR pros should know about the latest JOLTS data, keep reading here.—PM

A program providing paid family and medical leave (PFML) to Maine-based workers has been upheld by the state’s Supreme Court.

Bath Iron Works, a Navy ship manufacturer based in Bath, Maine, along with the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, sued the state’s Department of Labor (MDOL) in January. The Maine Supreme Court sided with the Department of Labor in an Aug. 26 opinion, allowing the rules for implementing the state’s PFML program to stand.

The plaintiffs argued Bath Iron Works shouldn’t be subject to mandatory quarterly taxes that started in January to fund the program, as it intends to offer a private leave program in lieu of the state-funded one. While the law establishing PFML says that employers with private plans approved by the state may be exempt from this tax, the MDOL didn’t start reviewing such plans until April. This means that in the interim, Bath Iron Works is still required to pay into the state’s PFML program.

The plaintiffs also argued the rules for implementing the state-sponsored program constitute “a taking of private property for public use” under Maine’s constitution. The Maine Supreme Court disagreed with both of these arguments.

For more on what the ruling means for HR pros, keep reading here.—CV

HR and payroll platform Deel has come a long way since entering Y Combinator in 2019. The 6-year-old business has evolved from a global contractor platform with an employer of record service to an all-in-one global workforce platform, surpassing a $1 billion run rate in Q1 2025. In many ways, it has achieved this by going against the grain: launching globally and creating an aggressive sales lead motion from day one.

At the center of it all is co-founder and CRO Shuo Wang. An engineer turned sales savant, Wang was first introduced to sales at 16 when, while speaking very little English, she and her mother ran a wholesale scooter and motorcycle business.

In a conversation with Revenue Brew, Wang discussed Deel’s early success, and how the company builds culture from the top down.

For more on how Deel creates culture from the top down, keep reading on Revenue Brew.—BS