Hiring hits 9-year high in Feb.

U.S. employers hired 5.4 million workers in February, a nine-year high that reflects a more vibrant labor market tilting decidedly in favor of job candidates.

The 5.4 million hires in February was up from 5.1 million in January and the most since November 2006, according to the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The number of people quitting jobs also rose near prerecession highs.

Total employment posted a net gain of a healthy 245,000 jobs in February, according to revised data Labor released last week.

For the past couple of years, job openings hit record levels and outpaced hiring in part because employers struggled to find skilled workers and had the luxury to be selective because of an elevated unemployment rate. Because hiring remained moderate, some economists said consistently strong net job growth in recent years was partly due to the low level of layoffs.

But Tuesday’s data indicates employers are filling jobs, not just posting them.

The 5% jobless rate is close to full employment and signifies a more limited pool of available workers. Recent Labor Department data reveal that less educated workers have been coming back to the labor force in recent months and snagging jobs, indicating that businesses are willing to train them even if they don’t meet all the job requirements, staffing firms have said.

Hiring increased in construction; retail; health care; leisure and hospitality; government; and financial activities. Hiring slowed in professional and business services, and mining, as oil producers continue to lay off workers.

The number of job openings fell to 5.4 million from 5.6 million.

And 3 million people quit jobs, up from 2.9 million in January and near prerecession highs. The tendency of workers to leave one job for another also reflects a more dynamic labor market in which workers feel confident in their job prospects.

Economists say the tightening labor market should show up in faster wage growth in coming months.

"Wage growth will accelerate as more businesses find it difficult to hire," economist Gus Faucher of The PNC Financial Group wrote in a note to clients.; "This, in turn, will support gains in consumer spending."