News Summary: US job openings drop in September

JOB OPENINGS FALL: U.S. employers posted fewer job openings in September after advertising more in August than first estimated. The report suggests hiring will likely remain modest in the coming months.

FEWEST IN FIVE MONTHS: The Labor Department said Tuesday that job openings dropped by 100,000 to 3.56 million, the fewest since April. August's openings were revised up to 3.66 million.

HEAVY COMPETITION: With 12.1 million people unemployed in September, there were 3.4 unemployed people, on average, competing for each open job, about the same as the previous month. In a healthy economy, that ratio is roughly 2 to 1.