Get your resume spiffed up and your best interview outfit ironed — there are more job openings in the U.S. than there have been in almost four years. In March, employers were looking for people to fill positions at a rate that hasn’t been seen since July 2008.

Bloomberg News says the increase in job openings shows growing confidence in the U.S. economy. The amount of open jobs increased by 172,000 to 3.74 million, more than a previous estimate of 3.57 million, said the Labor Department.

Most of the job openings were in the manufacturing industry and government agencies looking to expand.

“Businesses were becoming a bit more willing to commit to new hires,” said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey, in an interview. “The progress is incremental at best and the levels are still very low.”

Even with more jobs available, the hiring rate held at 3.3%, as the number of actual people hired in March decreased to 4.36 million from 4.4 million in February.

Another sign of the growing economy? People are feeling okay about quitting their jobs, with 2.15 million saying sayonara in March, up from 2.07 million in February. That shows that workers are gaining confidence that they can find other employment as the economy grows.

Know what you can do when you have a job? Buy stuff you need. What happens when you buy stuff? Demand increases, and companies hire more people to fulfill that demand and that means more people get jobs! It’s a happy circle. Yes, that is a simplified version of how it all works, but it’s still good news.

Job Openings in U.S. Rise to Highest Level Since 2008 [Bloomberg News]

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