U.S. employers posted more job openings and increased overall hiring in February, suggesting that modest job gains may continue, the government said Tuesday. The Labor Department reported that employers posted 3.5 million job openings in February, which was up slightly from a revised 3.48 million in January. December had seen job openings reach a three-year high of 3.54 million. The report, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTs), said that there is heavy competition for each available opening. With 12.8 million unemployed, there are on average 3.66 people out of work for each open position. The figure is much better than the almost 7-to-1 ratio that existed in July 2009, but it is worse than the 2-to-1 ratio that is common in a healthy economy. According to the JOLTs, more people quit their jobs and companies stepped up hiring. More people quitting is considered a positive sign because most people quit in order to take a new job, which is a signal of more opportunity in the job market. Overall hiring improved as well. Nearly 4.4 million people were hired in February, which was the most in roughly two years.
