The number of job postings in the United States rebounded in October from a 3-1/2 year low in September, a sign that businesses are still seeking workers even though hiring has cooled.

Openings rose 5% to 7.7 million from 7.4 million in September, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Still, the figure is down significantly from 8.7 million job postings a year ago.

Last month, job openings rose sharply in professional and business services, a category that includes engineers, tech employees and accountants, as well as in the restaurant and hotel and finance industries.

At the same time, overall hiring dropped, the report showed, evidence that the job market has lost momentum from earlier in the year. The number of Americans who quit their jobs rebounded in October, though, to 3.4 million, after having reached a four-year low in September.

The figures provide a mixed snapshot of the job market at a time when it has been hard to read. The government reported last month that hiring slowed sharply in October, though the slowdown was due mostly to the impact of hurricanes and strike at Boeing. The unemployment rate stayed at a low 4.1%.

On Friday, the government will issue the November jobs report, which is expected to show a bounce-back in hiring from the previous month's weak figure.

The Federal Reserve is watching the jobs data closely. Any sign that hiring is sharply weakening could encourage Fed officials to cut their key interest rate more quickly, to try to bolster borrowing and spending and support the economy.