There were 3.74 million job vacancies at the end of March, the highest level since July 2008. The rise was attributed to increased demand in construction and manufacturing, and could show that companies are gaining confidence in the recovery as the year goes on. The small business optimism index rose to 94.5, a high not seen since February 2011
However, the pace hiring hasn't budged much. The number of people hired in March fell to 4.36 million from February's 4.44 million, keeping the hiring rate steady at 3.3 percent. As Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP LLC says, "The progress is incremental at best and the levels are still very low."
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Chart of the Day
Twenty percent of the seats in the world's parliaments are now held by women. When countries have quotas in place-17 out of the 59 countries that held elections last year do-women make up 27 percent of the legislature, but only 16 percent in those without them. Representation by women in Congress falls below the world average.
Reason to Get Out of Bed in the Morning
Are Internet memes making you smarter? Academics are starting to ask.
