(Reuters) – U.S. job openings edged lower in September but remained well above pre-pandemic levels as employers continue to struggle to find workers.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand slipped to 10.4 million on the last day of September, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Friday, down from an upwardly revised 10.6 million in August. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 10.3 million job openings.
Quits increased by 164,000 to 4.4 million, a record high.
The government reported last Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 531,000 in October, the largest gain in three months, after posting a 312,000 gain in September. Job growth has averaged 582,000 per month this year.
(Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
