Job openings in US hit highest level on record

The number of job openings in the United States rose to the highest level on record in April, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

By the end of April, there were 5.4 million job openings, more than the 5 million recorded in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

The April figure marks the most job openings recorded in a month since the government began tracking them in late 2000.

{mosads}Job openings over the last year expanded for many industries, the report said, with the largest growth in services, healthcare and social assistance industries. By contrast, openings fell in mining and logging industries.

Five million people were hired in April, the report said, which was slightly down from March.

The rate of people who quit their jobs in April didn’t change much from March, nor did the rate of people who were either laid off or discharged. The report found 1.3 percent were laid off or discharged, similar to rates before the 2008 recession.

The new numbers come after a strong jobs report Friday, which found the U.S. economy added 280,000 jobs in May. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 5.5 percent because more workers have re-entered the labor market.