The U.S. had more job openings in August than at anytime since January 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.
The BLS reported in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, known as JOLTS, that the number of open positions rose to 4.8 million in August from 4.6 million in July, beating economists’ expectations.
Gross job creation has soared by nearly a quarter over the past year, and businesses and governments are now advertising more openings than they did at any time during the 2001-2007 economic expansion.
Hiring, however, dropped slightly in August, from 4.9 million to to 4.6 million. Hiring has lagged the pace at which businesses have created positions over the course of 2014 and remains well below its pre-recession levels.
Nevertheless, the news from the BLS’ more widely reported monthly jobs report, which leads the publication of JOLTS, has shown that net job creation accelerated in September, as the economy added 248,000 jobs.
The number of workers quitting their jobs remained steady in August, and the quits rate remained steady at 1.8 percent of total employment. Quits are usually seen by policymakers as a positive indicator, as workers’ willingness to leave their job reflects confidence in the labor market. The quits rate was as high as 2.3 percent in 2006 before declining to 1.3 percent during the depths of the recession.
Job creation in August was led by growth in manufacturing, healthcare and restaurants. State and local government openings declined slightly.
