Job Openings in U.S. Increase to 7.3 Million in October

(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.
• 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%.
• Total vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed Americans by 1.41 million, the most since May, and continuing the inversion in their usual relationship that has lasted for more than a year and a half.

Economist’s View

“Job openings are a measure of demand, and what you’re seeing in this number is that it has outstripped supply for 20 straight months,” economist Nick Bunker at hiring site Indeed.com said in an interview. “There’s no sign of that abating any time soon.”

What Bloomberg’s Economists Say

“Jolts data provide further reassurance of underlying strength in the labor market. As long as the job market remains healthy, consumers will have the means to support solid growth in spending. Payrolls data has shown similar resilience.”

--Eliza Winger

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• 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.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Kearns in Washington at jkearns3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Vince Golle

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