U.S. job openings fall to 10.33 million in October - BLS

By Scott Kanowsky 

Investing.com -- The number of job openings in the U.S. declined by less than expected in October, according to a monthly report on Wednesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The new data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that firms had 10.33 million job openings on the final business day of last month, down from a revised reading of just under 10.69M in September. Economists' forecasts had seen the figure dropping to 10.30M.

Meanwhile, over 4M people quit their jobs in October, slightly lower than the prior month but still about half a million more than pre-pandemic levels. The quits rate was little changed at 2.6%.

Quits are often seen as a possible sign of labor market tightness, with a higher number suggesting that a greater amount of people are either confident that they can find a new job or already have another more lucrative option.

Layoffs also edged up slightly to 1.39M from 1.33M in September.