Rubbish Check
ABC News Business (AP wire, Paul Wiseman) · September 1, 2026
source“U.S. job openings rise slightly to 7.3 million as labor market remains sturdy despite higher costs”
R3/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates ABC News's claim that job openings "rise slightly to 7.3 million" and the labor market "remains sturdy" a 3/10, because the headline accurately reflects the JOLTS figures but the word "sturdy" smooths over a report that also shows falling quits, dipping gross hiring, and the weakest average monthly job growth outside a recession in over two decades.
The Verdict
Lightly altered. The headline's numbers check out exactly, and "sturdy" is the same characterization the wire report itself uses in its lead. The framing isn't manufactured by ABC, it's inherited from AP, but it still glosses over a report riddled with soft internals, which keeps this off a clean 1.
What actually happened
The Labor Department's JOLTS survey showed job openings ticked up in July, with layoffs and quits both falling and gross hiring dipping from June. The report sits inside a broader 2026 hiring picture that's weak by historical standards but an improvement on 2025's near-stagnant job growth.
Key facts
- Job openings: 7.27 million in July, up from a revised 7.18 million in June, an increase of about 90,000, or roughly 1.3%.
- Quits fell in July, and layoffs also fell, a combination the report calls "low fire, low hire" mode via Navy Federal's chief economist.
- Gross hiring (before subtracting job losses/quits) dipped to 5.1 million in July from 5.3 million in June.
- Average net job growth in 2026 so far: just 61,000/month, dragged down by outright losses in February and July.
- 2025 comparison: job growth came in below 10,000/month, the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002.
- Unemployment rate: 4.1%, with weekly jobless claims staying low.
- Forecast for Friday's August jobs report: +65,000 jobs, unemployment ticking up to 4.2%, per a FactSet survey of forecasters.
What to watch for
Friday's August jobs report is the real test of "sturdy": a forecast unemployment tick to 4.2% alongside modest 65,000 job gains would confirm the "low fire, low hire" read rather than genuine strength. Watch also whether July's JOLTS openings figure gets revised down next month, as June's was, and whether falling quits persist, a trend more consistent with worker caution than the confidence the article credits it with.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
