U.S. Job Openings Rise by 333,000 to 7.52 Million in September as Layoffs Fall

U.S. job openings rose by 333,000 to 7.523 million in September from an upwardly revised 7.190 million in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday. The figure beat the 7.164 million analysts had expected. The openings rate was reported at 4.5%. Hires rose by 131,000 to 5.402 million, and the hiring rate edged up to 3.4% from 3.3%. Layoffs fell to their lowest level since March 2025, while the share of workers quitting rose to 2.1%, the highest in over a year. The gains came in state and local government, professional and business services, information, trade and transportation, construction and manufacturing. Private education and health, financial activities, and leisure and hospitality declined. Real estate, rental and leasing openings rebounded to 75,000 from a 12-year low of 52,000. The data come from the monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, and total employment was relatively flat during the month.

Right-leaning outlets differ in tone. The Daily Caller headlines the role of state and local government, which it says accounted for roughly a third of the increase (108,000). It notes federal openings are far below Biden-era levels after Trump's attempted cuts, and says employers are maintaining demand without expanding sharply. Breitbart leads with a jump in openings and falling layoffs, stresses workers feeling emboldened to quit, and says the data show surging demand for workers. It skips the sector breakdown. Both give the same headline figures. Alternative outlet ZeroHedge takes a separate angle, focusing on revisions to earlier data and the first beat since May after three disappointing reports. It puts the government increase at 104,000. Left-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while the right-leaning and alternative outlets had.