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Job Openings Hold Near 7.5 Million as Layoffs and Jobless Claims Stay Low (Nov. 9, 2026)

· Aggressive Hiring Group

Job openings are holding near 7.5 million, layoffs are still low and employers are hiring slowly, which means good workers stay put and are harder to find. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for September, released Nov. 3, and the Labor Department's latest weekly jobless claims report, released Nov. 5, both point that way. Here's what it means as of Monday, November 9, 2026, if you're hiring in Monroe, southeast Michigan, northwest Ohio or anywhere else.

The key numbers

  • Job openings: 7.5 million in September, a rate of 4.5%, little changed from the month before. August was revised up to 7.2 million.
  • Hires: 5.4 million, a hiring rate of 3.4%.
  • Quits: 3.4 million, a rate of 2.1%. Quits are up 375,000 from a year ago, a sign more workers feel confident enough to change jobs.
  • Layoffs and discharges: 1.6 million, a rate of 1.0%, little changed.
  • Weekly jobless claims: 189,000 for the week ending Oct. 31, down 6,000 from the prior week and well below 228,000 a year earlier. The four-week average was 194,750.
  • Continuing claims: 1,718,000 for the week ending Oct. 24, compared with 1,962,000 a year earlier.

Closer to home

Michigan's advance unadjusted initial claims came in at 5,404 for the week ending Oct. 31, down 301 from the week before, and Ohio's were 4,823, down 110. Both are modest numbers, and claims in Michigan had already fallen by 1,813 the week before on fewer manufacturing layoffs.

What it means for employers

There are about 7.5 million open jobs and only 5.4 million hires a month, so employers are competing for the same limited pool of ready workers. With layoffs this low, few experienced people are suddenly available, and the ones who are tend to get several offers. Slow hiring processes lose candidates. Companies that can interview and make an offer within a few days are the ones filling their openings.

Staffing help is a practical answer for the holiday rush and the start of the new year: you get pre-screened people quickly, and you can keep the strongest temporary workers on permanently.

What's next

The October consumer price index comes out Tuesday, Nov. 10. Wednesday is Veterans Day, and the next weekly jobless claims report arrives Thursday, Nov. 12. The October JOLTS report is scheduled for Dec. 1.

Need warehouse, logistics, industrial or office help before year-end? Aggressive Hiring Group has pre-screened candidates ready to go, in Monroe, MI and nationwide. Call us today at 734.785.8968 or request staff online.

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