US Economy: Job Openings Rise To 11 Million In October

There were 11 million job openings in October and 4.2 million Americans quit their jobs in the same month, according to the Labor Department.

Accommodation and food services saw the biggest job openings with 254,000, followed by nondurable goods manufacturing with 45,000 and educational services with 42,000.

The resignation rate fell to 2.8% compared to 3% the previous month. The industries seeing the largest decreases in resignations were transportation, warehousing, utilities, finance, insurance, arts and entertainment. Resignations increased in state and local government, mining and logging.

The unemployment rate has fallen to 4.2%, compared to 3.5% in February 2020 before the start of the pandemic. Wages have increased as employers look to attract more employees at a time when a record number of people are resigning.

"Hiring in the private sector slipped, which reflects the frustration that employers are feeling. They're already increasing wages, adding more benefits... carrots that should work to attract workers," Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO, told CNN. "Separations also fell. And, interestingly, fewer people quit their jobs in the month, which is welcome news."

There were 6.5 million hires in October, with 4.2 million people quitting their jobs, and the number of layoffs was unchanged at 1.4 million

"Under normal circumstances, a near-record number of job openings would be something worth celebrating. But no employer is in a celebratory mood," said Lee in a note to clients. "It is difficult to fill orders or meet customer demands if there are not enough people to do the actual work."