The U.S. labor market changed little in July, with both hiring and layoffs edging lower, according to new Labor Department data.

About 7.3 million jobs were available in July, slightly higher than the revised 7.2 million openings reported in June.

Employers hired about 5.1 million workers, down from 5.3 million in June, while layoffs also declined slightly to about 1.7 million.

The data shows the labor market remains in a “low hire, low fire” environment, with workers less likely to leave their current jobs because new opportunities are limited, Yahoo Finance has reported.

The report comes ahead of Friday’s employment report for August, which will provide another important measure of the health of the U.S. job market.