The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday that the number of job openings rose in October, although the number of job openings fell in October, when employment growth hit its lowest level in nearly four years.
According to the BLS Job Openings and Turnover Survey, job openings totaled 7.74 million in the month, an increase of 372,000 from September and higher than the Dow Jones forecast of 7.5 million. The number of job openings as a percentage of the labor force rose from 4.4% to 4.6%.
As a result, the ratio of job openings to unemployed people rose to 1.1 times, about half of what it was at the peak of the large gap between demand and supply in 2022.
Employment also fell at a time when the labor market was disrupted by severe storms in the southeast and two major labor strikes involving dockworkers and workers. boeing. The total number of employees was 5.31 million, a decrease of 269,000 from the same month, and the employment rate fell to 3.3%. This is also a decrease of 0.2 percentage points.
However, the number of layoffs fell to 1.63 million, down 169,000 from September. Additionally, the number of people who left their jobs voluntarily increased by 228,000 from September to 3.33 million.
The data comes from a month in which the BLS reported nonfarm payroll growth of just 12,000 people, the worst month since December 2020.
The Fed is closely monitoring the JOLTS report for signs of a tightening or loosening of the labor market. Markets expect the Fed to cut its benchmark borrowing rate by a quarter of a percentage point at its meeting later this month as part of averting a potential downturn in the labor market.
