WASHINGTON - Job openings climbed in February to the highest level in almost five years, the Labor Department said Tuesday, signaling that U.S. employers were preparing to expand before federal government budget cuts took effect last month.
The number of open positions advertised rose by 314,000 to 3.93 million, the most since May 2008, from a revised 3.61 million the month before. The pace of hiring increased to a three month high.
The report, which followed data last week showing payroll gains cooled in March from a one-year high, indicates the labor market was gaining momentum before across-the-board cuts in government spending went into effect March 1.
“It makes you wonder if the March payrolls report was an anomaly,” said Brian Jones, a senior U.S. economist at financial services company Societe Generale in New York, who projected openings would increase. “Things are getting better. Job openings will continue to improve.”
Tuesday’s report on job openings helps shed light on the dynamics behind the monthly employment figures.
Payrolls jumped by268,000 workers in February, the biggest gain in a year, after rising 148,000 the month before, Labor Department data showed Friday. The advance slowed to 88,000 in March. The unemployment rate dropped to 7.6 percent last month, the lowest since December 2008, from 7.7 percent in February.
The number of people taken on increased to 4.42 million in February. Total hirings as a share of overall employment climbed to 3.3 percent, a threemonth high.
The pace of additions to payrolls is taking on added significance among Federal Reserve policymakers. Central bankers reiterated in a March 20 statement that they would continue $85 billion of monthly bond purchases until the labor market outlook improves “substantially.” Each month the Fed is purchasing Treasury notes and mortgage bonds to keep interest rateslow, spur economic growth and trim unemployment.
During a news conference after the meeting last month, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said central bankers want to see “sustained improvement across a range of indicators,” including wages, unemployment claims and the hiring rate.
February’s jump in openings, the biggest since March 2012, was led by a surge among health-care providers and the hospitality industry, including hotels and restaurants. Retailers showed a decrease in help-wanted for the month.
In a separate report Tuesday, the Commerce Department said U.S. wholesalers cut their restocking in February by the most in 17 months. But their sales jumped, suggesting companies underestimated consumer demand.
Stockpiles at the wholesale level declined 0.3 percent in February. That followed a 0.8 percent increase in January, which was revised lower.
The decline was the first in eight months and the biggest since September 2011. Farm products and gasoline led the drop. Agriculture stockpiles have fallen in recent months because of the Midwest drought.
Sales at the wholesale level rose 1.7 percent, the most since November. The increase was led by large gains in gasoline, clothes and computers.
Shrinking stockpiles weigh on economic growth because it means factories are producing fewer goods. But a jump in consumer spending in February suggests companies will have to build their stockpiles faster in the coming months, which should spur more growth.
A third report released Tuesday said optimism among small-business owners took a dive last month as expectations for their companies’ sales and the economy fell.
The National Federation of Independent Business said its index of small-business optimism, compiled from a survey of its members, fell 1.3 points to 89.5 after three months of modest gains.
More than three-quarters of the 759 company owners surveyed said they expect business conditions six months from now to be the same as they are now, or worse.
The number of owners expecting their sales to increase fell 4 percentage points.
The survey was in line with other reports that showed a slowing in business during March. The Institute for Supply Management said surveys of its members showed slower growth in the manufacturing and service sectors. And the Labor Department said employers added only 88,000 jobs, significantly less than in the previous few months.
“The fact that they are not growing, not hiring, not borrowing and not expanding like they should be is evidence enough that uncertainty is slowing the economy,” said William Dunkelberg, chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business.
Information for this article was contributed by Shobhana Chandra, Kristy Scheuble and Jeanna Smialek of Bloomberg News and by Christopher S. Rugaber of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 04/10/2013