There were 5.1 million job openings on the last business day of February, little changed from January, but above market expectations.This was the highest level of job openings since January 2001. The job openings rate for February was 3.5%. The number of job openings was little changed for total private and government and no industries posted significant changes from January. Job openings increased in the Midwest region.
The number of job openings (not seasonally adjusted) increased over the 12 months ending in February for total nonfarm, total private, and government. Job openings increased over the year for many industries including professional and business services, health care and social assistance, and accommodation and food services. Job openings decreased over the year in mining and logging. The number of openings increased over the year in all four regions.
Data did not have any any major impact on the markets. Euro is currently being traded few points above 1.0870 level, Sterling slightly above 1.49 handle, while Aussie is near 0.7650 area.