Job openings jumped in April to the highest level in 16 months, a sign that private employers may boost hiring in coming months, according to the Associated Press.

The number of jobs advertised at the end of April rose to 3.1 million from 2.8 million in March, the Labor Department said today. That’s the most openings since December 2008.

Private employers accounted for the entire net gain. The government’s advertising for jobs decreased, despite the hiring of hundreds of thousands of census workers in May.

Job openings have risen by about 740,000 since bottoming out at 2.3 million in July. But they remain far below pre-recession levels of about 4.5 million openings per month.

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