Job openings posted a big gain in September, a positive sign for the labor market ahead of the payrolls report

Job openings increased in September, as did the number of workers leaving their jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday, while hiring also increased and layoffs decreased.

In its monthly analysis of the labor market slowdown and worker mobility, the BLS reported 7.52 million job openings, up 333,000 from August and well above the Dow Jones consensus forecast of 7.15 million.

As a share of the total labor force, the job opening rate increased to 4.5%, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. There are now some 414,000 more job openings than workers classified as unemployed, or about 1.05 openings for every available worker.

Openings increased in manufacturing (54,000), as well as in state and local government (108,000) and professional and business services (106,000).

At the same time, the total number of employees who quit their jobs reached 3.36 million, an increase of 321,000 from August and the highest level since March 2025. Resignations are seen as a barometer of workers’ confidence in finding a new job after leaving their previous position.

“There are more job openings than unemployed people in the United States right now. It doesn’t solve all the problems, but it’s a big change from a year ago,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “This is an encouraging sign: despite all the current headwinds from high diesel and gasoline prices and lingering inflation concerns, companies are slowly increasing their hiring.”

Hires increased over the month, up 131,000 to 5.4 million, while layoffs and layoffs fell 127,000 to 1.64 million, the lowest since March 2025.

This report precedes the October report on nonfarm wages, which the BLS will release Friday. The Wall Street consensus is for an increase of 59,000 after a gain of just 29,000 in September, while the unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.2%.

In other economic news Tuesday, orders for manufactured goods to factories in September jumped 1.8%, well above the 1.3% estimate after rising just 0.3% in August.