Hiring by America’s employers picked up a bit in August from July’s sluggish pace, and the unemployment rate dipped in a sign that the job market may be cooling but remains sturdy.

U.S. job openings dropped to a 3-1/2-year low in July, suggesting the labor market was losing steam, but the reduction on its own is probably not enough to warrant a half-percentage-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month.