Job openings totaled 7.74 million on the month, up 372,000 from September and more than the Dow Jones estimate for 7.5 million, the BLS said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
The rate of openings as a share of the labor force rose to 4.6% from 4.4%.
Hiring also tailed off at a time when the labor market was disrupted by violent storms in the Southeast as well as two major labor strikes involving dock workers and Boeing .
Hires totaled 5.31 million, down 269,000 on the month, lowering the hiring rate to 3.3%.
The Federal Reserve watches the JOLTS report closely for signs of tightness or slack in the labor market.
Persons:
Dow Jones, That's
Organizations:
of Labor Statistics, BLS, Labor, Boeing, Federal Reserve