Fewer people quit their jobs in November while total job openings in the United States were down more than 800,000 from the same time in 2023, the Labor Department said in their latest report.

Openings rose to 8.1 million in November, the most since February and up from 7.8 million in October, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. They were down from 8.9 million a year earlier and a peak of 12.2 million in March 2022 as the economy was roaring back from COVID-19 lockdowns. But they still exceed pre-pandemic levels.

Employers hung out more help-wanted signs in November than economists had expected, as the job market unexpectedly rebounded.