WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers increased their job postings in September as stronger economic growth could encourage more hiring. However, voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, largely pessimistic in the face of an economy in the grip of higher prices.
In the United States, job openings jumped to 7.5 million from a revised 7.19 million in August, according to the Labor Department. reported Tuesday. This is the highest number of openings since May and up from the recent low of 6.9 million in March.
The department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed that gross hiring — job gains before subtracting people who quit or lost their jobs — increased and layoffs decreased in September.
These increases are an encouraging sign that hiring may be improving, but the trend would need to continue for several months to suggest real progress. Hiring has been slow for almost three years, although layoffs have also been historically low, a sign of little “churn” in the job market. Low churn means that those who have jobs enjoy relatively high levels of job security, but it is much harder than usual for those looking for work to find one.
Yet the number of job openings now exceeds the number of unemployed, a stark change from last year, when there were more unemployed than jobs available.
“It’s an encouraging sign: Despite all the current headwinds from high diesel and gasoline prices and lingering inflation concerns, companies are slowly increasing their hiring,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.
Job openings increased the most in professional and business services, which include high-paying jobs in engineering and accounting, as well as jobs in the temp industry. Manufacturers, shipping companies and state and local governments have also made announcements to recruit more workers.
Nicole Bachaud, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter, warned that with inflation still high and interest rates rising since the summer, companies may not be able to significantly accelerate hiring in the coming months.
“All of that added together makes it a lot more expensive to run a business and a lot more expensive to expand,” she said. “And that will likely continue to put downward pressure on hiring, until we see inflation really able to calm down.”
The government will release the October jobs report on Friday, which is expected to show that employers added 65,000 jobs last month, according to data provider FactSet. This would be an improvement on the 29,000 recorded in September. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at a low level of 4.2%.
Typically, employment gains of just 65,000 would be considered a sign of a struggling economy, but with the giant baby boom generation retiring and sharply reduced immigrationthe economy does not need to generate as many jobs as in the past to keep unemployment low.
In September, layoffs fell sharply to just 1.64 million, the lowest number since March 2025. The number of people who left their jobs rose to 3.37 million, the highest in about 18 months, and up from 3.04 million.
An increase in resignations is generally a good sign, because workers typically leave their jobs when they have another one lined up or when they are confident they can find a new one.
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