U.S. job openings unexpectedly rose in December to 11 million

U.S. job openings unexpectedly rose in December, a sign the American labor market remains hot and a blow to the Federal Reserve's efforts to cool it down.

Openings in December rose to 11 million, up from 10.4 million in November, the Labor Department said Wednesday. Economists had expected job openings to drop slightly in December. The rate of layoffs and employees quitting both ticked up slightly that month.  

"With 76.4 million Americans starting new jobs, 2022 is the year with the largest number of completed hires on record,"Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, said in a note. By contrast, layoffs last year came in at just three-quarters of their typical level—despite a spate of layoff announcements from tech companies.