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Job opening increase in January

Posted on March 12th, 2014 Read time: 1 minutes

The number of job openings in the U.S. increased in January. During the month, there were 60,000 job openings, which increased the current total amount of openings to 4 million, according to the Labor Department.

The recent figures show employment is starting to increase throughout the country. Employment rose by 175,000 in February, which was a gain over January's figures of 129,000 and December's mark of 84,000.

Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities, told Bloomberg employment should be ramping up once the spring arrives.

"Hiring was delayed during the winter due to bad weather, and I think we've started to see some catch-up already in the February figures," Wang said. "We'll continue to see gradual improvement in measures like quit rates and hiring rates."

The Jobs Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reported 4.5 million people were hired in January. Although any type of hiring is good, the hiring rate has remained unchanged from December 2013 at 3.3 percent.

As more job openings become present, employers may need assistance in finding capable and experienced workers. Companies that are looking to add new workers can hire temporary workers in order to meet the demands of their respective industries.

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