It's getting harder to fill open jobs these days, and that could help if you're looking for a raise.
Two more reports Tuesday pointed to the ongoing strength of the job market, after Friday's monthly government data showing the jobless rate fell to 4.4 percent in April, the lowest level in a decade.
A separate report from the Labor Department showed that even as the number of job openings has risen to 5.7 million in the last few years, the pace of hiring hasn't grown as quickly. The so-called JOLTS report also showed that, since the recession ended, the number of people willing to quit their job has nearly doubled.
"That shows that people have pretty much overcome their fear of making a move," said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors.
As workers have gotten more confident about quitting, employers report having a tougher time recruiting them. A separate monthly survey released Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent Business found that about a third of small companies had trouble filling jobs in April, the highest level in nearly 17 years.
Many of those small companies report that they plan to boost wages to fill new openings and hang onto the workers already on the payroll. That wage bump has already begun as the overall unemployment rate has fallen to a level that economists call "full" employment.