Hiring Up, Layoffs Down in U.S.

By Andrew Soergel

Hiring rose and layoffs fell in October in yet more signs that the U.S. labor force should have plenty of momentum heading into 2016, according to a report released Tuesday by the Labor Department.

The government's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, released each month to profile hiring, firing and position vacancy trends across the country, showed American employers signed on more than 5.1 million new workers in October, making it the best month for hiring since June and the second-best since November 2007, the month before the Great Recession began.