Job Openings Decline in December

Washington, DC, Feb. 9, 2011 -- The Labor Department reported that employers posted fewer jobs in December.

The government said Tuesday that employers advertised nearly 3.1 million jobs in December, a drop of almost 140,000 from November and the second straight monthly decline. That's the lowest total since September.

Openings have risen by more than 700,000 since they bottomed out in July 2009, one month after the recession ended. That's an increase of 31%.

Openings are still far below the 4.4 million available jobs advertised in December 2007.

Nearly 14.5 million people were out of work in December.

Job openings fell sharply in construction to 28,000, from 91,000 in November. That could reflect weather-related shutdowns of building projects, Maki said.