Job openings in the United States surged to a record high of more than 10 million on the last day of July, while hiring lagged behind that figure by over 4 million, painting a picture of an economic recovery held back by businesses struggling to fill vacant positions. The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), released Sept. 8, showed that the number of job vacancies jumped by 749,000 to 10.9 million on the last day of July. The private sector accounted for 9.9 million job openings, with the remainder coming chiefly from state and local government and a small 116,000 contribution from the federal level. Sectors leading the way in job openings were health care and social assistance (+294,000), finance and insurance (+116,000), and accommodation and food services (+115,000). Hiring remained flat over the month, with U.S. employers taking on 6.7 million workers, the same number as …