US Job Openings Unexpectedly Rise a Second Month to 9.6 Million

US job openings unexpectedly climbed in September for a second month, underscoring the persistent strength of labor demand in various pockets of the economy.

The number of available positions increased to 9.6 million from a downwardly revised 9.5 million in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed Wednesday. Hiring edged up, while layoffs declined.

The level of openings exceeded the median estimate of 9.4 million in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Stocks rose while Treasuries rallied as investors parsed through a variety of fresh economic data, as well as the US Treasury’s announcement ...