US Job Openings Hit Four-Month High

2026-11-03 15:03 By Agna Gabriel 1 min. read

US job openings unexpectedly rose by 333,000 to 7.523 million in September 2026, from an upwardly revised 7.19 million in August, beating expectations of 7.10 million and reaching a four-month high.

Job openings increased in professional and business services (+106,000), state and local government, excluding education (+104,000), manufacturing (+54,000), construction (+36,000) and wholesale trade (+21,000).

Regionally, openings rose in the Northeast (49,000), the Midwest (90,000), and the West (244,000), but fell in the South (-49,000).

Hires and total separations changed little at 5.4 million and 5.3 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, layoffs and discharges slumped to 1.641 million, the lowest level since March 2025 and quits rose to 3.37 million.

The so-called quits rate, which measures the percentage of people voluntarily leaving their jobs each month, climbed to 2.1%, the highest in over a year.



News Stream
US Job Openings Hit Four-Month High
US job openings unexpectedly rose by 333,000 to 7.523 million in September 2026, from an upwardly revised 7.19 million in August, beating expectations of 7.10 million and reaching a four-month high. Job openings increased in professional and business services (+106,000), state and local government, excluding education (+104,000), manufacturing (+54,000), construction (+36,000) and wholesale trade (+21,000). Regionally, openings rose in the Northeast (49,000), the Midwest (90,000), and the West (244,000), but fell in the South (-49,000). Hires and total separations changed little at 5.4 million and 5.3 million, respectively. Meanwhile, layoffs and discharges slumped to 1.641 million, the lowest level since March 2025 and quits rose to 3.37 million. The so-called quits rate, which measures the percentage of people voluntarily leaving their jobs each month, climbed to 2.1%, the highest in over a year.
2026-11-03
US Job Openings Miss Forecasts
The number of job openings in the US fell by 256,000 to 7.079 million in August 2026, the lowest in five months, compared to an upwardly revised 7.335 million in July and forecasts of 7.23 million. Job openings fell in health care and social assistance (-115,000), professional and business services (-119,000), manufacturing (-54,000), construction (-48,000), real estate and rental and leasing (-45,000) and wholesale trade (-36,000). Regionally, openings fell in the Northeast (-78,000), the Midwest (-6,000) and the West (-243,000), but rose in the South (+71,000). Hires changed little at 5.2 million, while total separations were unchanged at 5.1 million. Within separations, quits (3.1 million) were unchanged, while layoffs and discharges (1.6 million) were essentially unchanged.
2026-09-29
US Job Openings Below Forecasts
Job openings in the US increased by 89,000 to 7.271 million in July 2026 from a downwardly revised 7.182 million in June, below market expectations of 7.30 million. The number of job openings increased in durable goods manufacturing (+76,000), health care and social assistance (+54,000), wholesale trade (+50,000), and construction (+28,000). On the other hand, job openings fell in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-67,000) and professional and business services (-65,000). Regionally, openings rose in the Midwest (84,000) and the West (135,000), but fell in the Northeast (-28,000), and the South (-102,000). Over the month, hires and total separations both changed little at 5.1 million. Within separations, quits (3.1 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.7 million) were little changed.
2026-09-01