US job openings rise to 7.74m in October
US job openings rose to 7.74m in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from a downwardly revised 7.37m in September and above market expectations for a reading of 7.48m.
Meanwhile, the number of hires and total separations was little changed at 5.3m, with quits at 3.3m and layoffs and discharges at 1.6m.
Job openings increased by 209,000 in professional and business services, while accommodation and food services openings rose by 162,000, and information operations were up by 87,000. On the other hand, federal government openings fell by 26,000.
On a regional basis, job openings rose by 486,00 in the South and 133,000 in the West, but fell by 195,000 in the Northeast and by 52,000 in the Midwest.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com