The number of job openings decreased to 8.7 million on the last business day of October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, the number of hires and total separations changed little at 5.9 million and 5.6 million, respectively. Within separations, quits (3.6 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.6 million) changed little. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by establishment size class. Job Openings On the last business day of October, the number of job openings decreased to 8.7 ... (full story)

Job openings tumbled in October to their lowest in nearly 2½ years, a sign that the historically tight labor market could be loosening. Employment openings totaled 8.73 million for the month, a decline of 617,000, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The number was well below the 9.4 million estimate from Dow Jones and the lowest since March 2021. The decline in vacancies brought the ratio of openings to available workers down to 1.3 to 1, a level that only a few months ago was around 2 to 1. Federal Reserve policymakers watch the report, known as the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, closely for signs of ... (full story)