This summer, more companies posted job openings in Washington state than almost anywhere else in the U.S., indicating inflation is likely to persist as labor shortages continue. At the end of July, the state recorded 213,000 job openings with one of the highest month-over-month increase rates in the nation, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, a monthly report on hires, quits and other labor market flows produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data for July, released late last month, points to a rebound in job openings, which had been declining in Washington after p…