Job offers climb in January to 7.58 million



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A "help wanted" sign hangs on the window of a Lower Manhattan restaurant.

Numbers: Job offers reached 7.58 million in January, the Labor Department said Friday in a sign indicating that companies were still eager to add new employees even with a tight job market.

What happened: Job openings reached the third highest level ever, rising from a revised $ 7.48 million in December, with a sharp increase in the wholesale, real estate and information sectors.

The 7.58 million available positions were compared to the 6.54 million unemployed in January, which slightly reduced the number of open positions compared to those looking for it, which rose from 1.19 to 1.16 in December.

The quit rate remained at 2.3%, which is close to the peak of 2.4% recorded this cycle. The willingness of workers to give up work is a positive sign from economists, as it usually means they see better opportunities to increase their wages and advancement elsewhere.

The big picture: The job market is still healthy, even with a few other indicators indicating that it may be moving in the opposite direction. Unemployment claims increased and non-farm payroll growth slowed sharply in February.

Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average

DJIA, -0.06%

was weaker Friday morning, but has performed well this year in hopes of ending interest rate hikes from the Fed and the resolution of the US-China trade talks .

The yield on the 10-year note

TMUBMUSD10Y, -1.54%

dropped to 2.58%. Industrial production rose 0.1% in February, disappointing, according to data released Friday by the Fed.

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