WASHINGTON — Job openings rose in several sectors of the economy in February, including retail, manufacturing, transportation, restaurants and hotels, the Labor Department said Tuesday.
The report is consistent with other surveys showing hiring is picking up in those areas. It also echoes last week’s national employment report, which showed broad job gains in March.
Total job openings, meanwhile, declined in February, the department said. That’s a sign that hiring remains sluggish even though employers are starting to add workers as they gain more confidence that the recovery is taking hold.
The government’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey illustrates the churn that takes place in the job market, even when hiring is weak. Employers posted 2.7 million job openings at the end of February. That was about 130,000 fewer than in the previous month. But it still exceeded the record lows of 2.4 million last year.
“Generally, you’re moving in the right direction on job openings,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase. “(But) as today’s numbers remind us, it’s not a straight line up.”
Retailers listed 320,000 openings, up from 255,000 the previous month, the department said. Manufacturers posted 17,000 more openings. Restaurants and hotels have added nearly 50,000 in the past two months.
The economy created 162,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department said last week. Yet the unemployment rate remained stuck at 9.7 percent as the number of people looking for work rose.
On Friday, the department said transportation and warehousing gained 7,800 jobs in March. That was the most since September 2007, before the recession began.
“That’s a good sign that we’re moving more freight and goods,” said Brian Bethune, chief U.S. financial economist at IHS Global Insight.
