Job openings and overall hiring reached five-year highs in September, indicating the job market’s current stability and improvement, the Associated Press reports.
The Labor Department reported an increase of 69,000 in job postings, making it a seasonally adjusted 3.9 million. A number that hasn’t been seen since March 2008, months after the recession, the AP notes.
As for hiring, it’s at 4.6 million now, a 26,000 increase, but still a bit under the typical number in sounder job markets of 5 million.
The number of people quitting their jobs is also at a high from last year, although the numbers did dip from August. According to AP, this number indicates confidence in the job market, as people tend to quit only when they have another job lined up or when they are sure they can find one.
Other signs of a healing economy and job market include the downward trend of job competition. In September, there were 2.88 unemployed persons per job on average, the lowest this figure has been since late 2008. A healthy economy usually has two unemployed persons per job, the AP said.
On the other hand, unemployment is still relatively high at 7.3 percent, in contrast to the other diminishing figures.
Read more at the Associated Press.