November 3, 2026
Job openings in the United States recorded a sharp rise during the month of September, coinciding with a decline in job layoffs, which reinforces economists’ estimates that the labor market remains strong, despite modest gains in the number of employees during that period.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Ministry of Labor explained, in its report issued today, Tuesday, on job vacancies and labor turnover, that the number of job vacancies – which is a major indicator of labor demand – increased by 333 thousand jobs to reach 7.523 million jobs by the end of September. In the same context, data for August was revised upward to reach 7.190 million job vacancies, compared to the previous reading of 7.079 million.
These numbers were higher than the expectations of economists polled by Reuters, who estimated 7.100 million job vacancies, while the job vacancy rate rose to 4.5% compared to 4.3% in August.
Economists point out that the labor market is currently in a stage known as “low employment and low layoffs.” Strong profits and continued strong domestic demand have contributed to keeping layoff rates near historic lows. However, they pointed out that the continuation of the American and Israeli war on Iran casts a shadow over employers, making them more hesitant to expand employment.
On a related level, the number of new appointments increased by 131,000 to reach 5.402 million in September, bringing the rate of appointments to 3.4% compared to 3.3% in August. On the other hand, layoffs and dismissals decreased by 127,000 cases to reach 1.641 million, with a decrease in rate to 1% compared to 1.1% in the previous month.
It is noteworthy that jobs in the non-agricultural sector recorded a growth of 29 thousand jobs in September. On the other hand, economists in the Reuters poll expected that jobs would rise by 65,000 in October, with the unemployment rate remaining unchanged at 4.2%.
