In a sign employers will be slow to expand staff even as the economy improves, the number of job openings in the U.S. fell for the first time in three months in February to 2.72 million.
That number reflects a drop of 131,000 from the previous month, according to a report from the U.S. Labor Department. Additionally, fewer people were hired and the number of workers fired also decreased.

According to Bloomberg, job openings fell 4.6 percent in February from a revised 2.85 million in January, which was larger than previously estimated. In the 12 months ended in February, the economy lost 3.2 million jobs, representing 51.5 million separations compared to 48.3 million hires, today’s report showed.

For the 12 months ended in February, the report showed there was a net loss of 3.2 million jobs, which is based on 51.5 million separations compared to 48.3 million hires.