US job openings unexpectedly increased by 333,000 to 7.523 million in September 2026, up from an upwardly revised 7.19 million in August. This exceeded market expectations of 7.10 million and marked a four-month high.
Openings rose notably in professional and business services (+106,000), state and local government excluding education (+104,000), manufacturing (+54,000), construction (+36,000), and wholesale trade (+21,000). By region, vacancies increased in the Northeast (+49,000), the Midwest (+90,000), and the West (+244,000), while they declined in the South (-49,000).
Hires and total separations were little changed at 5.4 million and 5.3 million, respectively. Layoffs and discharges fell sharply to 1.641 million, the lowest level since March 2025, while quits rose to 3.37 million. The quits rate — the share of workers voluntarily leaving their jobs each month — climbed to 2.1%, its highest level in over a year.
