US job openings unexpectedly increased in August, pointing to tight labour market conditions that could compel the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next month.

Job openings, a measure of labour demand, jumped 690,000 to 9.610 million on the last day of August, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday (Oct 3).

Data for July was revised higher to show 8.920 million job openings instead of the previously reported 8.827 million. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 8.8 million job openings in August. REUTERS