The number of positions waiting to be filled rose by 149,000 to 4.83 million from a revised 4.69 million in September, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. Other aspects of the report, including, hiring, firing and quits, were little changed.

Vacancies are increasing as companies, running lean from recession-era job cutting, seek to boost headcount amid accelerating growth in the world's largest economy. Continued improvements in the labor market will be needed to carry that momentum into next year and help assure Federal Reserve policy makers that the economy can withstand the first interest rate increase since 2006.