(CN) — Employers sharply ramped up their demand for workers in January, advertising 6.3 million jobs -- the most on record for a single month, the Labor Department said Friday.
According to the government, 645,00 more jobs were advertised in January than in December, the largest one-month increase in 2½ years.
The number of job openings increased in professional and business services (+215,000), transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+113,000), construction (+101,000), among other industries.
The number of job openings increased in the South, Midwest, and West regions.
The number of people hired also moved up and fewer Americans quit in January compared with the previous month, the Labor Department said.
The huge demand for workers comes as the unemployment rate is already at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent.
The report shows that overall hiring increased by a much smaller amount than job openings, an indication that employers are having difficulty finding the workers they need.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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