U.S. Job Openings Showed Little Growth in November

U.S. employers advertised about the same number of jobs in November as in October.

Job openings ticked up 11,000 last month to 3.67 million, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's about 12 percent more than were advertised in the same month a year ago.

More than 12 million people were unemployed in November. That means there were 3.3 unemployed people, on average, competing for each open job. That's the lowest ratio since November 2008.

Still, in a healthy economy, the ratio is roughly 2 to 1.

Separately, the Labor Department said the number of people seeking unemployment aid increased last week, ticking up 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 371,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose after falling to a four-year low the previous week.

Overall hiring was largely unchanged in November, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS. Companies hired 4.3 million people, just 3,000 more than in October. Layoffs ticked down to nearly 1.7 million, 10,000 below October's number.

The number of people who quit their jobs rose, but was little changed compared to this summer.

Job openings rose in retail and hotels and restaurants, which likely reflect holiday-related gains. Openings ticked down in construction and manufacturing.

Employers added 161,000 jobs in November and 155,000 in December, according to the government employment report released Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in December. It fell to that level in November from 7.9 percent in October.

Thursday's JOLTS report looks at total hiring, layoffs and quits. The report released Friday measured net hiring and unemployment.

The JOLTs report suggests that employers didn't step up layoffs or cut back on hiring in the midst of the debate over the tax and spending changes known as the fiscal cliff, which is probably a good thing considering more budget showdowns are expected.

Congress must vote to raise the government's $16.4 trillion borrowing limit by around late February. If not, the government risks defaulting on its debt.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.