Employment openings exceeded the level of available workers by 5.6 million in March while a record number of people quit their jobs, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

The level of job postings hit 11.55 million for the month, also a fresh record, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. That was up 205,000 from February and representative of a jobs market still historically tight.

At the same time, quits totaled 4.54 million, an increase of 152,000 from the previous month as the so-called Great Resignation continued. The pandemic era has seen opportunities for workers who feel confident enough to leave their current situations for better employment elsewhere.

The report adds to an inflationary picture that is expected to push the Federal Reserve into a series of aggressive rate hikes, starting with a half-percentage-point move Wednesday.

A shortage of labor supply during the pandemic has caused a surge in wages, with average hourly earnings up 5.6% from a year ago in March. Still, that hasn’t kept with inflation, which has run at an 8.5% pave over the same time period.

Supply failed to keep up with demand in March, with the level of new hires actually declining slightly to 6.74 million despite the increase in openings. Total separations increased to 6.32 million, a rise of nearly 4% from February.

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