The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that job openings stood at 7.271 million in the latest JOLTs report. ^[1] According to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday, US vacancies rose to 7.27 million from a downwardly revised 7.18 million in June. ^[2] US job openings increased slightly in July, suggesting that labor demand has remained relatively stable over recent months. ^[3] The reported figure of 7.271 million falls short of the forecasted 7.330 million, indicating a minor miss from analysts' expectations. ^[4] The average forecast from a survey of economists conducted by Bloomberg predicted 7.31 million job vacancies for the period. ^[5] Prediction market traders and economists overestimated U.S. payroll numbers for two consecutive months in June and July 2026, expecting six-figure job gains in June (actual just below 60,000) and job gains in July (actual job losses). ^[6] Prediction market traders on Kalshi see 50-50 odds that the U.S. added more than 50,000 jobs in August 2026, implying a slightly lower outlook than the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 53,000 jobs. ^[7] Prediction market traders on Polymarket give a 48% likelihood that the U.S. economy created more than 50,000 jobs in August 2026. ^[8] According to BLS projections cited by Business Insider, software developers are expected to add 174,700 jobs from 2025 to 2035 and have a median annual pay of $135,980, ranking them first. ^[9] Business Insider ranked high-paying jobs by combining BLS projections with May 2025 median wage data, defining high-paying as typical annual pay of at least $75,000. ^[10] Registered nurses are projected to gain 194,700 jobs over 2025-2035 with a median annual pay of $97,550, placing the occupation fourth on Business Insider's list. ^[11] The Bureau of Labor Statistics released new employment projections on a Thursday in 2025 for hundreds of occupations spanning the 2025-2035 period. ^[12]