WASHINGTON — Job openings rose in August for the second straight month and layoffs dropped sharply, evidence that the job market is slowly healing.
The number of jobs advertised rose nearly 2 percent, to 3.2 million, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the highest level since April, when temporary census hiring inflated that month's figure.
Job openings at private companies rose slightly to 2.85 million, the highest in 21 months. Among the fields seeing large increases were professional and business services and the hospitality industry.
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Whether the September report shows it or not, a lot of evidence is pointing to a healing job market coming down the road.
