Now hiring: US job openings soar to record high of 8.1 million

The enormous number of openings will likely add fuel to a political debate about whether the extra $300 in weekly federal unemployment aid, on top of a state payment that averages about $320, is discouraging people from returning to work.

United States employers posted a record number of available jobs in March, illustrating starkly the desperation of businesses trying to find new workers as the country emerges from the coronavirus pandemic and the economy expands. Yet total job gains increased only modestly, according to a US Department of Labor (DOL) report issued Tuesday. The figures follow an April jobs report last week that was far weaker than expected, largely because companies appear unable to find the workers they need, even with the unemployment rate elevated at 6.1 percent. Job openings rose nearly 8 percent, to 8.1 million in March, the most on records dating back to December 2000, the government said. Yet overall hiring that month rose less than 4 percent to 6 million.