** US employers listed 7.52 million job openings at the end of September, well above what economists expected, while more workers quit their jobs and fewer were laid off, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, known as JOLTS, was released on 3 November and showed openings up by 333,000 from a revised 7.19 million in August. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected about 7.15 million openings, so the result beat forecasts by roughly 370,000. The openings rate rose to 4.5 percent from 4.3 percent.

Workers quitting again

The clearest sign of confidence came from quits, which climbed by 321,000 to about 3.36 million, the highest level since March 2025, according to CNBC. A rising quits rate is read as a vote of confidence in the labour market. Hires rose by 131,000 to about 5.4 million, a hiring rate of 3.4 percent, while layoffs and discharges fell to about 1.6 million, a rate of 1.0 percent. Openings rose by 106,000 in professional and business services, by 54,000 in manufacturing and by 36,000 in construction.

Why it matters for interest rates

The data landed just before Friday's stronger-than-expected October payrolls report, which showed employers adding 165,000 jobs against about 65,000 expected. Together the two releases have strengthened the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its 8-9 December meeting, with traders pricing roughly an 80 percent chance of a quarter-point rise. The Associated Press noted openings are now well above the recent low of 6.9 million set in March. The next JOLTS report, covering October, is scheduled for 1 December. [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.htm) [Que](https://que.com/job-openings-jump-to-7-5-million-and-quits-hit-an-18-month-high-raising-the-odds-of-a-december-fed-rate-hike/)