(Bloomberg) -- Job openings in the U.S. decreased in June fromthe highest level on record as hiring picked up.

The number of positions waiting to be filled declined by 108,000to 5.25 million from a revised 5.36 million in May that was themost since data began in 2000, a report from the Labor Departmentshowed Wednesday. The rate of hiring was the strongest thisyear.

The data signal employers are filling the vacancies they currently have beforeposting more, as they also wait for more evidence that the U.S. canweather any weakness that ripples from financial shocks abroad.

Federal Reserve policy makers are looking for some additionalimprovement in the labor market to ensure that the economy canwithstand the first increase in the central bank’s benchmarkinterest rate since 2006.

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“The labor market in the U.S. remains solid, demand for laborremains solid and labor-market slack continues to diminish,” saidJesse Hurwitz, a U.S. economist for Barclays Plc in New York.“There’s less slack left in U.S. labor markets than the Fedthinks.”

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The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economistsprojected 5.35 million openings in June.

More context

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, addscontext to monthly payrolls data by measuring dynamics such asresignations, help-wanted ads and the pace of hiring. Although itlags the Labor Department’s other jobs figures by a month, FedChair Janet Yellen follows the report as a measure of labor- markettightness and worker confidence.

The report showed job openings fell at hotels and restaurants,construction companies and factories.

Some 2.75 million people quit their jobs in June, up from theprior month’s 2.73 million.

The quits rate, which shows the willingness of workers to leave theirjobs, held at 1.9 percent and compares with a 2percent reading when the recession started at the end of 2007.

“In Yellen’s view, that is a sign of workers’ confidence in thelabor market,” Ryan said. “You wouldn’t be quitting your job unlessyou have better prospects.”

The number of people hired climbed to 5.18 million, pushing thehiring rate up to 3.7 percent, the highest since December, from 3.6percent. The gauge calculates the number of hires during the monthdivided by the number who worked or received pay during thatperiod.

More firings

Total dismissals, which exclude retirements and those who lefttheir job voluntarily, increased to 1.79 million from 1.66 millionin May.

In the 12 months ended June, the economy created a net 2.7million jobs, representing 60.6 million hires and 57.9 millionseparations.

There are about 1.6 unemployed people vying for every opening,compared with 1.8 when the 18-month recession began in December2007, the figures show.

Wednesday’s report follows the July employment report from theLabor Department, which showed companies continued to expandheadcount last month while keeping a lid on wage growth. Payrollsclimbed by 215,000 and the unemployment rate held at a seven-yearlow of 5.3 percent, while average hourly earnings climbed aless-than-forecast 2.1 percent from a year earlier.

That may be enough to indicate “some further improvement” in thelabor market that the Fed has said it needs to see before theincrease their benchmark interest rate, which has lingered nearzero since 2008. Additionally, officials need to be “reasonablyconfident” that inflation will move back to its 2 percent goal inthe medium term.

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