Number of Job Openings in the U.S. Just Hit a Record High As of March, the U.S. currently has its biggest number of job openings since the Labor Department started tracking the metric in 2000. The department reported there were 6.6 million openings by the end of March. The number of openings from February to March increased by 472,000. Unemployment has also fallen to its lowest rate since 2000 at 4 percent. The report also found people aren’t hesitant to leave their jobs… as the number of employees who quit rose to its highest since since 2001.