Job Openings in U.S. Climb to Highest Since September ’07

Source: Bloomberg

By Victoria Stilwell Jun 10, 2014 10:30 AM ET

Job openings in the U.S. climbed to an almost seven-year high in April as employers sought more workers to help manage stronger demand in a rebounding economy.

The number of positions waiting to be filled in the U.S. rose by 289,000 to 4.46 million in April, the highest since September 2007, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. The pace of firing also rose.

The figures, which are among nine labor-market measures monitored by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, corroborate other data that show further improvement in the job market. Payrolls have climbed by an average almost 214,000 workers a month so far in 2014 compared with about 204,000 at the same point last year.

“Job openings are a measure of the demand for labor, so in general, you like to see a rising trend,” said Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities USA Inc.. “There’s been improvement in the labor turnover figures and business surveys also suggest that conditions are gradually improving.”

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-10/job-openings-in-u-s-rose-by-289-000-in-april-to-4-46-million.html