Job openings jumped to more than 11 million in October

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that U.S. job openings reached an all-time high of 11 million in October.

The number was 3.6 million above the number of job searchers that month and marked an increase of more than 4 percent in terms of openings overall, according to CNBC. 

The results of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey come as the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on employment in the U.S. and around the world. Though the number of people who quit their jobs in October declined by 4.7 percent, that rate was still nearly a quarter above where it stood last year, CNBC added. 

The outlet also reported that some economists have attributed the uptick in job openings to the workers who are hesitant to return to the workforce during the pandemic as a result of health concerns or their need for child care.

In September, a record-breaking 4.4 million U.S. workers left their jobs voluntarily as part of what some have referred to as “The Great Resignation.”

“The rise of quitting across the labor market is remarkable, but the concentration among a few sectors is eye-popping. Quits are up the most in sectors where most work is in-person or relatively low paying,” Nick Bunker, economic research director at Indeed, said of the change in the U.S. labor force at that time.

“The ‘Great Resignation’ is more a story about strong demand for workers, rather than a rethink of work among higher-income workers,” he added.