BUSINESS BRIEFING / LABOR

Job openings fell to the lowest level in nine years in July, according to a Labor Department report, as businesses remain reluctant to hire despite signs the economy is improving.

The department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey, or JOLTS report, found that businesses and government advertised 2.4 million open positions on the last day in July, down from 2.5 million in June. That’s also the smallest number of openings since the department began compiling the data in December 2000.