Simply Hired^®, a technology company that operates one of the world’s largest job search engines, today reported that for the eighth time in 10 months the U.S. has experienced growth in job openings. In February, job openings increased 8.5 percent month-over-month and 19.6 percent year-over-year. Nationwide job competition held steady at a ratio of three unemployed persons for every one job opening. These findings are part of Simply Hired’s March 2013 Employment Outlook, which highlights job industry and employer trends in national and regional U.S. markets.

“With February job openings increasing nationwide, we are now seeing a consistent pattern of growth for the economy,” said James Beriker, president and CEO of Simply Hired. “Eight of the last 10 months showed an increase in job openings across the country. And this month, each of the top 50 metros experienced job opening growth. This is very promising as we head into the upcoming spring months.”

Hiring increases in all major metros

Job openings increased in all 50 major metros in February. One quarter of metros experienced double-digit growth, with Nashville (14.0 percent), Austin (13.6 percent) and Las Vegas (13.1 percent) facing the largest gains. In addition, the ratio of job seekers to job openings held steady in nearly all metro areas.

Job openings increase in nearly all industries

Job openings increased in 16 out of 18 industries in February. The largest gains were experienced in the agriculture (21.6 percent) and construction (18.8 percent) industries. This is the second month in a row that agriculture experienced a double-digit gain. However, industries that decreased include military (-4.9 percent) and hospitality (-4.5 percent). Year-over-year, three-quarters of industries have experienced growth.

Construction and extraction workers job openings increase

Nearly all occupation categories (22 out of 24) experienced growth in job openings in February. Construction and extraction workers (16.5 percent) and journalists and media workers (15.6 percent) experienced the largest amount of growth month-over-month. However, law enforcement, fire, security (-2.1 percent) and military personnel (-1.6 percent) faced declines in February.

About Simply Hired

Simply Hired^®, a technology company that operates one of the world’s largest job search engines, connects job seekers and employers through its powerful search engine platform and performance-based job advertising solution. With more than 30 million unique visitors per month, the company provides job seekers access to over eight million job openings across all job categories and industries, reaching job seekers on the web, social networks, mobile devices, email and through more than 40,000 partner sites including LinkedIn, Mashable and Bloomberg Businessweek. The Sunnyvale, California-based company has twice been named a “Top Workplace” by The Bay Area News Group and is privately held with funding from Foundation Capital and IDG Ventures.