Job Openings Surge in September, Signaling Hiring Pickup
U.S. employers posted 7.52 million job openings in September, up 333,000 from August. The Labor Department's monthly turnover survey released the figures Tuesday.
- 7.15 million openings was the consensus forecast, well below the actual figure.
- 3.36 million workers quit, the most since March 2025.
- 131,000 more hires lifted the monthly total to 5.4 million.
- 1.64 million layoffs and discharges, the lowest since March 2025.
Why it matters: Hiring has been sluggish for nearly three years, though layoffs have stayed low. Workers who have jobs are relatively secure, but job seekers struggle to land one.
- Rising quits are read as a measure of worker confidence.
- September openings were the highest since May.
How 4 sources split on this story
Where they split: Coverage differs on whether one strong month signals a labor market recovery or only a possible start of one.
Center coverage, 2 sources: The center sees a clear positive data point for the labor market heading into Friday's payrolls report.
Left coverage, 1 sources: The left sees a hopeful but tentative sign, set against voters heading to the polls gloomy about higher prices.
Right coverage, 1 sources: The right sees a surprise beat showing a solid recovery, while noting past rounds of downward data revisions.
What’s next: The BLS publishes its payrolls report Friday. CNBC describes it as the October report; ZeroHedge calls it the August report.
- CNBC cites a 59,000 consensus; ZeroHedge cites 65,000.
- Unemployment is forecast to hold at 4.2%.
- Will Friday's payrolls figure beat forecasts, as the turnover data might suggest?
- Will openings and hiring keep rising for several more months?
