September JOLTS shows job openings rise above 7.5 million, quits up and layoffs down

U.S. job openings rose by 333,000 to 7.52 million in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday, well above the Dow Jones consensus of 7.15 million. August was revised up to 7.190 million, and the job openings rate rose to 4.5%. There are now about 414,000 more openings than unemployed workers, or roughly 1.05 openings per job seeker.

Worker mobility picked up as well. Voluntary quits climbed to 3.365 million, pushing the quits rate to 2.1% from 1.9%, the first reading above 2% since June 2025 according to Indeed Hiring Lab. Hires rose by 131,000 to 5.4 million, while layoffs and discharges fell by 127,000 to 1.64 million, the lowest since March 2025, for a layoff rate of 1.0%. Openings rose in state and local government (108,000), professional and business services (106,000) and manufacturing (54,000).

Economists read the report as a sign of resilient labor demand. Mohamed El-Erian called it a stronger-than-expected start to a big week for labor data, and Navy Federal Credit Union chief economist Heather Long noted that openings again exceed the number of unemployed people. The BLS itself described openings as little changed in its release, a reminder that monthly JOLTS moves are noisy.

What to watch: Friday's October nonfarm payrolls report, where the consensus calls for a 59,000 gain after September's 29,000, with unemployment expected to hold at 4.2%. A firm quits rate tends to precede stronger wage growth, which matters for the inflation outlook and rate-sensitive sectors.