Job seekers get mixed messages from October job openings data
The Federal Reserve is flying partially blind heading into Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting as the White House is keeping some of the key data a secret. Last month, the government announced that it is canceling October’s employment report due to the government shutdown. On Dec. 8, ...
The Federal Reserve is flying partially blind heading into Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting as the White House is keeping some of the key data a secret.
Last month, the government announced that it is canceling October’s employment report due to the government shutdown. On Dec. 8, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shared that it will also skip the October wholesale-price inflation report.
Worst layoff years through November 2025
- 2020: 2.23 million
- 2001: 1.96 million
- 2002: 1.37 million
- 2009: 1.24 million
- 2025: 1.17 million
- 2003: 1.14 million
Source: Challenger, Gray, & Christmas
August data showed a slight uptick in the unemployment rate to 4.3% for the third consecutive month, as employers added just 22,000 new jobs.
The September numbers were initially scheduled to be published on October 3, but the government shutdown delayed their release by 48 days to November 20. Once it was released, the data showed that unemployment ticked up again to 4.4%, despite 119,000 new jobs being created in the month.
While the BLS won't be releasing some October jobs data, it did release the latest job openings and labor turnover summary on Tuesday. Photo by Oscar Wong on Getty Images
U.S. job openings jump to the highest level in months, but layoffs also rise in October
U.S. job openings rose in October to the highest level they have been since the spring, according to the latest BLS data.
The number of open positions rose slightly from the previous month to 7.67 million from 7.66 million in September. While that is good news for job seekers, October also put pressure on people who already had jobs.
Related: November job losses hit two US regions the hardest
The number of layoffs rose in October to 1.85 million, the highest it's been since early 2023, driven by dismissals in the manufacturing, leisure, and hospitality industries.
Additionally, hiring declined by 218,000 to 5.15 million from the month prior despite an increase in job openings.
In perhaps the worst omen for the jobs market, the number of people voluntarily leaving their jobs fell to its lowest rate since May 2020.
Once again, professional and business services led the country with over a million separations, while trade, transportation, and utilities reported just under a million. More than 900,000 employees have left the leisure and hospitality industry.
Private-sector payrolls drop in the Northeast and South
Private employers cut 32,000 jobs in November, with construction, manufacturing, professional/business services, and information services leading the job losses, according to ADP numbers.
“Hiring has been choppy of late as employers weather cautious consumers and an uncertain macroeconomic environment,” said ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson. “And while November’s slowdown was broad-based, it was led by a pullback among small businesses.”
Related: Shocking September jobs report defies historical precedent
The declines were uneven across sectors and across regions.
While the construction and manufacturing industries saw job declines of 9,000 and 18,000, respectively, the natural resources and mining industry added 8,000 jobs.
Information services (20,000), financial activities (9,000), and professional/business services (26,000) lost jobs, while education/health services (33,000), leisure/hospitality (13,000), and trade/transportation/utilities (1,000) gained jobs during the month.
The job losses were also uneven by region.
The Northeast and South reported steep job losses, while the Midwest and West reported job gains.
Related: US job market hits a new low in October
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