U.S. Job Openings Dipped In August

The number of U.S. job openings fell slightly in August, a troubling sign for a labor market that is recovering at a painfully slow pace.

Job openings -- a measure of labor demand -- dropped to 3.56 million from 3.59 million in July, the Labor Department said on Wednesday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.

The data casts a small shadow over recent signs of improvement in the labor market.