Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her initial insights on today’s release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for October. Read the full Twitter thread here.

Job openings increased to 11.0 million in October, just below the series high of 11.1 million in July. The job openings rate also increased to 6.9%, just below the series high of 7.0% in July. The largest increase in job openings in October was in accommodation and food services. pic.twitter.com/bWRUJCovOJ

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) December 8, 2021

With the increase in job openings in accommodations and food services in October, hires also ticked up while quits ticked down. The public sector saw an uptick in hiring in October, while job openings fell and quits were unchanged.

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) December 8, 2021

Within the public sector, job openings and hires rose in state and local education in October, as quits ticked down. This recent uptick in hiring is promising as employment in public education continues to face significant shortfalls compared to pre-pandemic levels.

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) December 8, 2021