U.S. job openings rose by 333,000 to 7.523 million in September, following an upwardly revised 7.190 million in August and exceeding the 7.164 million market forecast cited in the latest account. An earlier Reuters estimate put the forecast at 7.100 million. The total reached a four-month high and topped all estimates in a Bloomberg survey, while the openings rate increased to 4.5% from 4.3%. Hiring rose by 131,000 to 5.402 million, lifting the hires rate to 3.4% from 3.3%, while layoffs and discharges fell by 127,000 to 1.641 million and their rate declined to 1.0% from 1.1%. Voluntary departures climbed by 321,000 to 3.365 million, the highest level since March 2025, and the quits rate rose to 2.1% from 1.9%. Total separations remained near 5.3 million. Openings increased in professional and business services, state and local government excluding education, manufacturing, construction and wholesale trade, and rose in the Northeast, Midwest and West while declining in the South. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed broadly stronger labor-market activity ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls reading. The labor market remained in a low-hire, low-fire state, with strong profits and resilient domestic demand helping keep layoffs near historic lows, while the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran made employers hesitant to expand hiring. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 29,000 in September, and economists surveyed by Reuters expected a 65,000 increase in October with unemployment unchanged at 4.2%.