Figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics suggested the job picture south of the border did not change substantially in October.
The bureau revealed the number of job openings was little changed at 6.7 million on the last business day of October. Hires were little changed at 5.8 million while total separations increased to 5.1 million.
Within separations, the quits rate was unchanged at 2.2% while the layoffs and discharges rate increased to 1.2%. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by four geographic regions.
The monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) report went on to say the number of job openings in October (not seasonally adjusted) decreased over the year to 7.1 million (-596,000) reflecting the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market. Job openings decreased in a number of industries with the largest decreases in retail trade, accommodation and food services, and finance and insurance.
Only nondurable goods manufacturing and durable goods manufacturing had increases in job openings.
