After two months of silence, today’s release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) is the first official labor market data for October from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the most up-to-date look at employment conditions for Federal Reserve policymakers ahead of tomorrow’s decision. US job openings picked up in October to the highest level in five months. Openings, a proxy for labor demand, rose to 7.67 million, up from August’s 7.23 million and slightly above September’s 7.66 million. The data beat expectations, as economists had forecast a drop to 7.15 million.

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