Employment situation continues to improve

The number of job openings at the end of June was 4.7 million, a slight increase from the previous month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent Job Openings and Labor Turnover report. There were 4.6 million job openings at the end of May.

In the first half of 2014, the number of job openings has been trending upward, the BLS reports, increasing by an average of 159,000 openings per month from January through June.

In addition to the number of job openings, there has also been an increase in nonfarm payroll employment. According to figures from the BLS, jobs increased by 209,000 in July, and the unemployment rate was largely unchanged at 6.2 percent. The employment sectors with the most growth were professional and business services, manufacturing, retail trade, and construction, which has positive effects for several commercial real estate property types.