The number of US job openings in July rose 8.1% from June to almost 5.8 million, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. July had the highest level of job openings since the series began in December 2000. However, the number of hires edged down.

Job openings increased in professional and business services, accommodation and food services, retail trade and nondurable goods manufacturing. Regionally, job openings increased in the Northeast and South.

The job openings rate — a measure of job openings compared with total employment — rose to 3.9% in July from 3.6% in June.

The number of hires fell 3.8% in July to about 5.0 million. There was little change in the number of hires in all industries and regions over the month. The number of separations also fell 3.9% to more than 4.7 million.

“The data — in absolute terms, and relative to the level of unemployment and the population — now signal unambiguously that the labor market is unable to supply the people companies need. Usually, that means wages will accelerate, though the evidence for that now is mixed,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told MarketWatch.

Click on chart to enlarge