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Small employers are listing their highest share of job openings ever, The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports.

What’s going on: “Solid demand for workers from small establishments, such as mom-and-pop businesses and many franchise locations, stands in contrast to a cooling labor market more broadly. It could give smaller businesses a chance to catch up on hiring with less competition from larger companies on pay and benefits, and offer refuge for job seekers as the unemployment rate creeps higher.”

• General economy and manufacturing job openings both declined in October, according to Labor Department data out yesterday.
• In September, organizations with one to nine employees accounted for 21% of all job openings, the highest proportion on record since 2000.

Why it could be happening: “The proliferation of remote employment and other changes to the way Americans work in recent years are allowing more small businesses to form and, in some cases, to source workers from locations across the country,” job site ZipRecruiter told the Journal.

• As wage growth softens, smaller businesses also now find themselves better able to compete for workers with larger firms.