WASHINGTON: The US employers posted 11 million open jobs in October, nearly matching a record high reached in July and a sign that companies were confident enough in the economy to expand, Arab News reported.

The government report on Wednesday also showed that the number of people quitting their jobs dropped slightly in October to 4.2 million, from 4.4 million in September, though that is still the third-highest number of monthly resignations on records dating back to 2000.

The figures from the Labour Department’s Job Openings and Labour Turnover survey, or JOLTS, show that with so many companies chasing relatively few unemployed people, jobseekers have the most bargaining power they have had in at least two decades.

Wages are rising at a healthy pace, particularly for lower-paid employees, though much of that bump in pay is being eroded by higher inflation.

There were just 7.4 million people counted as unemployed in October, equal to just two-thirds of the 11 million open jobs. In the two decades that the government has issued the JOLTS report, there have usually been more unemployed people than available workers.

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