WASHINGTON (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 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 in 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. Government job openings fell by 36,000.
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