2.5 million job openings; 15 million job hunters

On the last business day in September, U.S. employers had 2.5 million job openings, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

That compares to 15.1 million unemployed persons previously reported for that month.

The job separations rate continued to outpace the job hires rate in the month, the bureau said.

The separations rate -- the total number of job terminations divided by the employment total and multiplied by 100 -- was 3.3 percent.

The hires rate -- the total number of new hires divided by the employment total and multiplied by 100 -- was 3.1 percent.

The number of job openings has fallen by 2.3 million, or 48 percent, since its recent peak in June 2007.

The total separations rate generally has decreased over the 12 months ending in September.