U.S. Hiring Headcount Highest Since 2007

The number of hires by U.S. employers in July reached the highest level since 2007 and job openings hovered near their highest level in 13 years, the latest sign of improvement in U.S. labor markets.

The U.S. Labor Department reported that employers hired 4.9 million workers in July, the highest level since December 2007.  

Interestingly, there were approximately 2.1 unemployed workers for every job opening for July, down from three workers per opening one year earlier. To put this in context, there were almost 6.5 unemployed workers for every opening at the depth of the recession in 2009.