The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report today. Job openings declined to 4.73 million in September from 4.85 million in August. August's figure was revised up from 4.84 million.

Analysts had expected job openings to remain at 4.85 million.

The number of job openings was little changed for total private (3.5 million) and government (2.0 million) in September. The level of job openings fell for arts, entertainment, and recreation.

The hires rate climbed to 5.0 million in September from 4.7 million in August. That was the highest level since December 2007.

Total separations rose to 4.8 million in September from 4.5 million in August.

The JOLTS report is one of the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's favourite labour market indicators.