Job openings report could be 'head fake' as Fed eyes fresh hike -analyst

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STORY: Job openings, a measure of labor demand, increased 437,000 to 10.7 million on the last day of September, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, partially reversing August's decline.

The unexpected rise suggested demand for labor remained strong, tempering financial market expectations that the Federal Reserve would dial back its aggressive interest rate increases in December.

The report was published as Fed officials gathered for a two-day policy meeting. The U.S. central bank is expected to deliver another three-quarters of a percentage point rate hike on Wednesday as it fights to cool demand for labor and the overall economy to bring inflation down to its 2% target.