Job openings posted big September gain in positive sign for labor market ahead of payrolls report — SkimNews
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- Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 7.52 million U.S. job openings for September, up 333,000 from August and well above the Dow Jones consensus of 7.15 million.
- Opening rate increased 0.2 percentage point to 4.5% of the workforce, leaving 414,000 more openings than unemployed people, or about 1.05 openings for every available worker.
- Worker quits climbed 321,000 to 3.36 million, the highest since March 2025; quits are considered a barometer of workers’ confidence in finding new jobs.
- Hiring increased 131,000 to 5.4 million, while layoffs and discharges fell 127,000 to 1.64 million, their lowest level since March 2025.
- Manufacturing job openings rose by 54,000, while state and local government added 108,000 and professional and business services added 106,000.
- Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, called the labor-market improvement encouraging and said companies were slowly increasing hiring despite high diesel and gas prices and ongoing inflation problems.
- October nonfarm payrolls report is due Friday, with Wall Street consensus calling for a 59,000 increase after September’s 29,000 gain and unemployment holding at 4.2%.
Why it matters: Job seekers held the stronger position entering Friday’s payrolls report: there were 414,000 more openings than unemployed people, while layoffs fell 127,000. That demand contrasts sharply with consensus expectations of only 59,000 payroll gains, making the coming employment report the key check on the stronger September openings data.
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