WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) – U.S. job openings increased marginally in October, but hiring remained subdued as employers navigated an uncertain economic environment.

Job openings, a measure of labor demand, were ‍up 12,000 to 7.670 million by the last day of October, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 7.150 million unfilled jobs.

Hiring dropped by 218,000 to 5.149 million ‌in October. The report incorporated data for September, ‌whose release was canceled because of the 43-day federal government shutdown.

The BLS said it had “temporarily suspended use of the monthly alignment methodology for October preliminary estimates,” adding that “use of this me

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