WASHINGTON — It turns out we may be able to breathe a little easier about the slowdown in hiring last month.
A Labor Department report Tuesday showed that job openings surged 3.4 percent to 5.1 million in February — a 14-year high. That’s a clear sign that companies are willing to boost their staffs.
The figure follows a disappointing jobs report Friday that showed that employers added only 126,000 jobs in March. That was the weakest number in 15 months and followed 12 straight months of job gains above 200,000.
The pickup in open jobs, however, suggests that hiring could rebound in the coming months. Businesses have been slow to fill openings for much of the recovery and may start filling more of their open jobs in April.
The sharp rise in available jobs “is a reassuring sign that the fundamentals of the labor market have continued to improve,” said Jeremy Schwartz, an analyst at Credit Suisse.
Other recent data point to better hiring and growth in the second quarter. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week. And a survey of service firms, including retailers, banks and construction companies, found that they expanded at a healthy pace last month.
There were some negative signs in Tuesday’s report.
Total hiring slipped 1.6 percent in February to 4.9 million, the second straight decline.
But layoffs fell even more. The declines in hiring and layoffs suggest that employers were cautious in the face of a faltering economy but weren’t spooked enough to cut jobs.
Recent data have pointed to sputtering growth in the first three months of this year.
