(Bloomberg) -- U.S. job openings unexpectedly increased in October, another sign of tightness in the labor market with the jobless rate at a half-century low.
The number of positions waiting to be filled rose by 235,000 to 7.27 million, according to the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, released Tuesday. The median forecast called for 7 million. The quits rate held at 2.3%.
Key Insights
- The pickup from a 1 1/2-year low shows openings are stabilizing after falling from a record a year earlier. Companies have hired at a slower pace this year amid struggles to find qualified workers.
- Total vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed Americans by 1.41 million.
- The report follows a November jobs report showing employment gains roared back with a 266,000 gain, the most since January, after an upwardly revised 156,000 advance the prior month. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%.
- Hiring slowed to 5.76 million while separations declined to 5.64 million.
- Job openings increased in the South and Midwest, and rose modestly in the Northeast. They were little changed in the West.
- The number of total hires reflected gains in construction, transportation and state and local education.
- Although it lags a month behind other Labor Department data, the report adds context to monthly employment figures by measuring dynamics such as resignations, help-wanted ads and hiring.