WASHINGTON — U.S. employers posted a record job openings for the second consecutive month in July — more affirmation that the labor market is bouncing back from last year’s coronavirus recession.

Job openings rose to 10.9 million in July, up from the previous record of 10.2 million in June, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. But the department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report showed that actual hiring dipped slightly to 6.7 million in July, from 6.8 million in June. Layoffs rose slightly to 1.3 million.

Nearly 4 million people quit their jobs, just shy of a record set in April, and up from 3.9 million in June. That suggests many are confident in their prospects of finding new jobs.