© AP ECONOMIC REPORT
The numbers: Job openings in the United States rose slightly in October, but layoffs rose even faster in another sign of a weakening labor market due to the persistence of the coronavirus.
The number of job openings edged up to 6.65 million from 6.49 million in September, the Labor Department said Wednesday.
About 5.8 million people were hired in October.
Separations - layoffs, firings, retirements and so forth - weren't far behind. They rose to 5.1 million from 4.8 million in the prior month, mostly because of struggling companies letting workers go.
Read: The 245,000 jobs created in November is the smallest of the economic recovery
What happened: Job openings rose the most in health care and manufacturing.
They declined the most in retail, one of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic. Retailers were planning to hire fewer people for the holiday season.
The so-called quits rate was unchanged at 2.4% among private-sector employees.
Big picture: Although job openings are relatively high, many positions are going unfilled and job creation slowed in November after a record outbreak of coronavirus cases.
The slowdown in is likely to retard the economy recovery at the end of 2020 and into early 2021. The economy probably won't grow much faster until vaccines are widely distributed.
Read: The U.S. economy is going to get worse before it gets better
Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose in Wednesday trades.