April job openings most since Dec. '08
A most-welcome sign of the times. This help-wanted poster at a Rockville Centre cell phone store reflects what U.S. Labor Department statistics are showing -- that there are more job openings available. (June 3, 2010) Credit: AP
Job openings jumped in April by the most in 16 months, a sign that hiring by private employers is healthy despite last week's disappointing jobs report.
The U.S. Labor Department says the number of jobs advertised at the end of April rose to 3.1 million from 2.8 million in March. That's the most openings since December 2008.
Job openings have risen by about 740,000 since bottoming out at about 2.3 million this past July. But they remain far below pre-recession levels of about 4.5 million openings per month.
The biggest increases in available jobs were in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality and education and health services.
All of the net gains came from the private sector, as the state,
local and federal governments cut their job openings.
Here are the changes in available jobs by sector, at a glance:
Construction: Up 19,000
Retail: Down 4,000
Manufacturing: Up 9,000
Professional and business services: Up 100,000
Education and health services: Up 37,000
Leisure and hospitality: Up 43,000
Government: Down 36,000
