RJ and Makay

Good news from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL): In February, businesses posted the largest number of job openings in more than two years, suggesting hiring is on the rise.

According to the DOL, employers advertised 3.1 million jobs in February, the most since September 2008 (the height of the financial crisis). Competition for jobs remains intense, though it has eased a bit. There were 4.4 people, on average, competing for each available job in February, down from nearly 7 per job in July 2009. Two applicants per job is considered a sign of a healthy economy.

Michael Oxley, the former Republican congressman from Ohio best known for co-authoring the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, has registered as a lobbyist for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). His goal, as stated on his registration form: to work on the “harmonization of regulation of broker-dealers and investment advisors.”

Translation: to promote a self-regulatory organization (SRO) for investment advisors.

CareerBuilder and USA TODAY released their Mid-Year Job Forecast 2010 report. The report finds more of the same for the second half of the year. The report is jammed with statistics and human capital outlook information. More than 2,500 hiring managers and HR pros and 4,400 workers across industries participated in the survey.

Here's our summary of the stats and data in the report:

• 41 percent of hiring managers plan to hire in the months of July through December
• 42 percent of hiring managers don't plan to hire anymore this year
• One-in-five plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in Q3
• 24 percent of hiring managers reported they increased their full-time, permanent staff in Q2
• 11 percent of hiring managers report decreasing headcount in Q2, an improvement from 17 percent last year
• 21 percent of employers plan to augment their full-time permanent headcount in Q3 compared to 8 percent who expect to downsize