U.S. businesses posted a near-record level of open jobs in January, a trend that has helped push up worker's pay and added to inflationary pressures in the U.S. economy.

Employers posted 11.3 million jobs at the end of January, down slightly from a record of 11.4 million in December.

The number of people quitting their jobs did slip to 4.25 million down from 4.4 million though January's figure is still 23% above pre-pandemic levels.

Millions of people are taking advantage of numerous opportunities to switch jobs, often for higher pay.

Average hourly pay increased 5.1% in February compared with a year earlier, a rapid gain that forces companies to either become more efficient or raise prices to offset their higher labor costs.

Tomorrow, the government will issue its inflation report which economists expect will show the biggest gain in four decades.