US posts upbeat job openings in Feb U.S. posts upbeat job openings in Feb

Job vacancies in the United States reached a two-year high in February while hiring accelerated as expedited coronavirus vaccine rollouts boosted domestic demand. More so, the country’s massive stimulus package heavily supported companies’ needs for more employees.

Job openings, which gauge labor demand, jumped 268,000 to 7.4 million on the last day of February. The figure from the Labor Department came to be the sharpest level of increase since January 2019, and this heavily sent job openings above their pre-pandemic record.

In the healthcare and social assistance sectors, 233,000 job openings were recorded. As for the accommodation and food services sector, job vacancies advanced a total of 104,000 even after the industry was dragged by the coronavirus pandemic.

The latest reading indicated that the labor market reversed, recovering from last year’s drag as the nation grappled with an increase in new coronavirus cases and depleted government relief.