HOUSTON, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The number of job openings in the United States was little changed at 6.7 million on the last business day of June, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Tuesday.

The job opening rate was at 4.3 percent, remaining unchanged. Job openings increased in educational services but decreased in transportation, warehousing, and utilities.

The number of hires was little changed at 5.7 million, and the hires rate was 3.8 percent.

The number of total separations was little changed at 5.5 million, that is, a 3.7 percent rate. Total separations, referring to as turnover, includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations.

Quits rate, a measure of workers' willingness or ability to leave jobs, stayed at 2.3 percent for the fourth month in a row.

Sunny Zhang, founder of Z LAB, a marketing company based in Houston, believed that it is a good sign for the economy with this level of quits rate.

"People feel more confident to leave old jobs when better opportunities emerge," Zhang said.

Other separations increased in several industries, with the largest increases in finance and insurance from 8,000 to 27,000.

Over the 12 months ending in June, the U.S. economy yielded a net employment gain of 2.5 million, resulting from 66.6 million hires and 64.1 million separations. Enditem