U.S. had a record 11.5 million job openings in March; 4.5 million workers quit

May 3 (UPI) -- There were 11.5 million job openings in the United States by the end of March, the Labor Department said on Tuesday in its monthly assessment -- a record level that means there are two open jobs for every adult nationwide who's unemployed.

The department reported the figure in its Jobs Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, or JOLTS, report.

The labor snapshot also said there were 6.7 million hires for March compared to 6.3 million job separations.

The department said 4.5 million of the separations involved workers who'd voluntarily quit their jobs by the end of the month -- the highest figure since last November.

"Quits increased in professional and business services (+88,000) and construction (+69,000)," the department said in a statement.

Tuesday's report said that 10.5 million of the openings were in the private sector, many in healthcare and professional/business services.

The 11.5 million job openings are the most the department has ever tracked, it said, going back to 2000.

Tuesday's figure was up slightly from the 11.3 million openings in February and almost 11 million in January.