Job openings hit a record high in March - showing the gap between job postings and hirings was huge even before April's jobs report

• US job openings rose to 8.1 million from 7.4 million in March, according to JOLTS data.
• That lands above the median estimate of 7.5 million and marks a record number of openings.
• The hiring rate climbed to 4.2% from 4% as stimulus and vaccinations fueled reopening.

Job openings grew to record highs in the US in March amid continued vaccination and fresh stimulus.

The data shows businesses reopening along with the country, yet last Friday's jobs report for April indicated employers have since had trouble filling those jobs.

Openings rose to 8.1 million from 7.5 million, according to Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, data published Tuesday morning. The median estimate from economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for 7.5 million openings. The reading marks a third straight increase and places job openings at their highest level ever.

The food services, accommodations, and state and local government education sectors added the most openings throughout the month. The health care and social assistance sectors shed 218,000 jobs, marking the largest decline of the month.

Separations, which count layoffs and quits, dropped to 5.3 million from 5.4 million.

Quits climbed by 125,000 to 3.5 million. Layoffs and discharges sank by 243,000 to 1.5 million.

The country's hiring rate rose to 4.2% from 4%, according to the report. That's just above the pre-pandemic trend. Yet with roughly 10 million Americans unemployed, the pace signals the labor market recovery will take years if hiring doesn't accelerate further.

Data published Friday suggests that such acceleration isn't likely, at least not in April. The US added just 266,000 jobs last month, grossly missing the median estimate for 1 million payrolls. The reading also marked a sharp deceleration from the job growth seen in March. Unless the April figures prove to be noise or are revised higher, the report hints the labor market recovery hit major snags despite the broad easing of economic restrictions.

Some attributed the weak payroll growth to reports of labor shortages, but JOLTS data showed plenty of Americans searching for work. About 1.2 Americans competed for each job opening in March. That's down from the February reading of 1.3 and the pre-pandemic level of about 0.8.

To be sure, a phenomenon known as reallocation friction can keep companies from hiring even in areas with an abundance of jobless Americans. Experts have warned that the post-pandemic economy will be drastically different from that seen in early 2020. The types of jobs available to workers could be very different, and jobless Americans might need time to decide which sector to work in if they have to make such a pivot.

The JOLTS report provides more detail around what was largely an encouraging month for the labor market. The country added 770,000 payrolls as Democrats' $1.9 trillion stimulus supercharged spending. The unemployment rate fell to a pandemic-era low of 6%.

While the April jobs report showed the recovery stagnating last month, other indicators have shown more promising trends. Daily COVID-19 case counts fell to an 11-month low on Sunday and are swiftly trending lower as vaccination continues. Filings for unemployment benefits have similarly declined over the past four weeks and most recently slid below 500,000 for the first time since March 2020.