Rising Job Openings Show U.S. Companies Poised to Hire

By Jeanna Smialek and Victoria Stilwell - Dec 10, 2013

Job openings in the U.S. climbed in October to the highest level in more than five years, showing employers were looking beyond the budget impasse in Washington amid growing confidence in the economic expansion.

The number of positions waiting to be filled rose by 42,000 to 3.93 million, the most since May 2008, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. Other figures showed wholesalers boosted stockpiles by the most in two years, another sign that companies were preparing for a pickup in sales.

A report last week showed companies in November followed through on the hiring intentions as payrolls climbed more than projected. The figures on openings, combined with data on hiring and job leavers, are among those tracked by Federal Reserve policy makers, including Janet Yellen, to gauge labor-market strength as they determine when to reduce bond purchases.

“Businesses are looking to fill openings, they recognize the economy is improving and to meet demand they’re going to have to hire more aggressively,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania. For the Fed, “it’s going to be a close call in December, but they may just wait until 2014” to begin trimming stimulus, he said.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-10/job-openings-in-u-s-increased-to-3-93-million-in-october.html