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Economic News Release
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JOLTS JLT Program Links

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release


For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, February 10, 2015	USDL-15-0210

Technical information:  (202) 691-5870  •  JoltsInfo@bls.gov  •  www.bls.gov/jlt
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  •  PressOffice@bls.gov

                    JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER – DECEMBER 2014

There were 5.0 million job openings on the last business day of December, little changed from 4.8 
million in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires (5.1 million) and 
separations (4.9 million) were little changed in December. Within separations, the quits rate (1.9 
percent) and the layoffs and discharges rate (1.2 percent) were unchanged. This release includes 
estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by 
industry and by four geographic regions.

Job Openings

There were 5.0 million job openings on the last business day of December, little changed from 
November. This was the highest level of job openings since January 2001. The job openings rate for 
December was 3.5 percent. The number of job openings was little changed for total private and 
increased for government in December. (See table 1.) Job openings increased for health care and social 
assistance and for state and local government. The number of job openings increased in the Northeast 
region.

The number of job openings (not seasonally adjusted) increased over the 12 months ending in 
December for total nonfarm, total private, and government. Job openings increased over the year for 
many industries including the professional and business services and the health care and social 
assistance industries. The number of openings increased over the year in all four regions. (See table 7.)

Hires

There were 5.1 million hires in December, little changed from November. This was the highest level of 
hires since November 2007. The hires rate in December was 3.7 percent. The number of hires was little 
changed for total private and government. Hires increased over the month in construction. The number 
of hires was little changed in all four regions. (See table 2.)

Over the 12 months ending in December, the number of hires (not seasonally adjusted) increased for 
total nonfarm and total private, and was little changed for government. Hires increased over the year in 
construction, finance and insurance, and accommodation and food services. The number of hires 
increased in the South region. (See table 8.)

Separations

Total separations includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Total separations is 
referred to as turnover. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, 
the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and 
discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations include separations 
due to retirement, death, and disability, as well as transfers to other locations of the same firm.

There were 4.9 million total separations in December, little changed from November. This was the 
highest level of separations since October 2008. The separations rate was 3.5 percent. The number of 
total separations was little changed for total private and government. Total separations rose in the 
Northeast region. (See table 3.)

There were 2.7 million quits in December, little changed from November. The quits rate in December 
was 1.9 percent. The number of quits was little changed for total private and government. Quits 
increased in construction and durable goods manufacturing. The number of quits was little changed in 
all four regions. (See table 4.)

The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) increased over the 12 months ending in December for 
total nonfarm and total private and was little changed for government. Over the year, quits increased for 
several industries, including the retail trade and the accommodation and food services industries. Quits 
decreased in mining and logging and in professional and business services. The number of quits 
increased over the year in the South region. (See table 10.)

There were 1.7 million layoffs and discharges in December, little changed from November. The layoffs 
and discharges rate was 1.2 percent. The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed over the 
month for total private and government. In the Northeast region, layoffs and discharges increased. (See 
table 5.) Seasonally adjusted estimates of layoffs and discharges are not available for individual 
industries.

The number of layoffs and discharges (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed over the 12 months 
ending in December for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The number of layoffs and 
discharges decreased over the year in accommodation and food services and in the federal government. 
The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed in all four regions. (See table 11.)

In December, there were 443,000 other separations for total nonfarm, an increase from November. 
This was the highest level of other separations since May 2006. Over the month, the number of other 
separations increased for total private to 383,000 and was little changed for government at 61,000. (See 
table 6.) Seasonally adjusted estimates of other separations are not available for individual industries or 
regions.

Over the 12 months ending in December, the number of other separations (not seasonally adjusted) 
increased for total nonfarm and total private and was little changed for government. Other separations 
increased over the year in a few industries including retail trade. Other separations increased in the 
South and West regions. (See table 12.)

Net Change in Employment

Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout the business cycle. Net 
employment change results from the relationship between hires and separations. When the number of 
hires exceeds the number of separations, employment rises, even if the hires level is steady or declining. 
Conversely, when the number of hires is less than the number of separations, employment declines, even 
if the hires level is steady or rising. Over the 12 months ending in December 2014, hires totaled 58.3 
million and separations totaled 55.4 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.9 million. These 
figures include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.
____________
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for January 2015 are scheduled to be 
released on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
|                                 Revisions to the JOLTS Data                                   |
|                                                                                               |
|With the release of January data on March 10, the BLS will revise the job openings, hires, and |
|separations data to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics        |
|employment estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors. Unadjusted data and seasonally |
|adjusted data from January 2010 forward are subject to revision.                               |
|_______________________________________________________________________________________________|


Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally adjusted
Category Job openings Hires Total separations
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

LEVELS BY INDUSTRY
(in thousands)

Total

3,914 4,847 5,028 4,578 5,054 5,148 4,468 4,700 4,886

Total private(1)

3,552 4,386 4,510 4,291 4,742 4,823 4,170 4,406 4,573

Construction

124 133 147 251 311 393 287 293 361

Manufacturing

288 325 306 253 262 271 247 226 253

Durable goods

177 203 196 146 155 161 145 126 146

Nondurable goods

111 122 110 107 107 110 102 100 107

Trade, transportation, and utilities(2)

763 883 892 1,003 1,128 1,100 927 1,067 1,104

Retail trade

474 523 583 734 785 768 671 729 783

Professional and business services

680 991 1,028 980 1,012 1,042 952 947 965

Education and health services(3)

624 795 921 539 572 597 517 520 533

Health care and social assistance

552 715 832 461 504 521 442 453 461

Leisure and hospitality

524 622 646 795 928 922 771 854 868

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

43 51 55 126 145 139 116 133 135

Accommodation and food services

481 571 591 668 783 784 655 721 734

Government(4)

361 461 518 287 313 325 297 294 314

State and local

311 406 456 259 274 297 265 256 284

RATES BY INDUSTRY
(percent)

Total

2.8 3.3 3.5 3.3 3.6 3.7 3.3 3.4 3.5

Total private(1)

3.0 3.6 3.7 3.7 4.0 4.1 3.6 3.7 3.9

Construction

2.1 2.1 2.3 4.3 5.1 6.4 4.9 4.8 5.9

Manufacturing

2.3 2.6 2.4 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.1 1.8 2.1

Durable goods

2.3 2.6 2.5 1.9 2.0 2.1 1.9 1.6 1.9

Nondurable goods

2.4 2.7 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.3 2.2 2.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities(2)

2.8 3.2 3.2 3.8 4.2 4.1 3.5 4.0 4.1

Retail trade

3.0 3.3 3.6 4.8 5.1 5.0 4.4 4.7 5.0

Professional and business services

3.5 4.8 5.0 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.1 4.8 4.9

Education and health services(3)

2.9 3.5 4.1 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.4 2.4 2.5

Health care and social assistance

3.0 3.8 4.3 2.6 2.8 2.8 2.5 2.5 2.5

Leisure and hospitality

3.5 4.0 4.2 5.5 6.3 6.2 5.3 5.8 5.8

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

2.0 2.3 2.5 6.1 6.8 6.5 5.6 6.2 6.3

Accommodation and food services

3.7 4.3 4.4 5.4 6.2 6.2 5.3 5.7 5.8

Government(4)

1.6 2.1 2.3 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.4

State and local

1.6 2.1 2.3 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.5

Footnotes
(1) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(2) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(3) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(4) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(p) Preliminary


Technical Note


This news release presents statistics from the Job Openings and Labor
Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects
and compiles JOLTS data monthly from a sample of nonfarm
establishments. A more detailed discussion of JOLTS concepts and
methodology is available online at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch18.pdf.

Coverage and collection

The JOLTS program covers all private nonfarm establishments, as well
as federal, state, and local government entities in the 50 states and
the District of Columbia. Data are collected for total employment, job
openings, hires, quits, layoffs and discharges, other separations, and
total separations.

Concepts

Industry classification.  The industry classifications in this release
are in accordance with the 2012 version of the North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS).

Employment.  Employment includes persons on the payroll who worked or
received pay for the pay period that includes the 12th day of the
reference month. Full-time, part-time, permanent, short-term,
seasonal, salaried, and hourly employees are included, as are
employees on paid vacations or other paid leave. Proprietors or
partners of unincorporated businesses, unpaid family workers, or
persons on leave without pay or on strike for the entire pay period,
are not counted as employed. Employees of temporary help agencies,
employee leasing companies, outside contractors, and consultants are
counted by their employer of record, not by the establishment where
they are working.

Job openings.  Job openings information is collected for the last
business day of the reference month. A job opening requires that: 1) a
specific position exists and there is work available for that
position, 2) work could start within 30 days whether or not the
employer found a suitable candidate, and 3) the employer is actively
recruiting from outside the establishment to fill the position.
Included are full-time, part-time, permanent, short-term, and seasonal
openings. Active recruiting means that the establishment is taking
steps to fill a position by advertising in newspapers or on the
Internet, posting help-wanted signs, accepting applications, or using
other similar methods.

Jobs to be filled only by internal transfers, promotions, demotions,
or recall from layoffs are excluded. Also excluded are jobs with start
dates more than 30 days in the future, jobs for which employees have
been hired but have not yet reported for work, and jobs to be filled
by employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies,
outside contractors, or consultants. The job openings rate is computed
by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and
job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.

Hires.  The hires level is the total number of additions to the
payroll occurring at any time during the reference month, including
both new and rehired employees, full-time and part-time, permanent,
short-term and seasonal employees, employees recalled to the location
after a layoff lasting more than 7 days, on-call or intermittent
employees who returned to work after having been formally separated,
and transfers from other locations. The hires count does not include
transfers or promotions within the reporting site, employees returning
from strike, employees of temporary help agencies or employee leasing
companies, outside contractors, or consultants. The hires rate is
computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying
that quotient by 100.

Separations.  The separations level is the total number of employment
terminations occurring at any time during the reference month, and is
reported by type of separation—quits, layoffs and discharges, and
other separations. (Some respondents are only able to report total
separations.) The quits count includes voluntary separations by
employees (except for retirements, which are reported as other
separations). The layoffs and discharges count is comprised of
involuntary separations initiated by the employer and includes layoffs
with no intent to rehire; formal layoffs lasting or expected to last
more than 7 days; discharges resulting from mergers, downsizing, or
closings; firings or other discharges for cause; terminations of
permanent or short-term employees; and terminations of seasonal
employees. The other separations count includes retirements, transfers
to other locations, deaths, and separations due to disability. The
separations count does not include transfers within the same location
or employees on strike. The separations rate is computed by dividing
the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient
by 100. The quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations rates
are computed similarly.

Annual estimates.  Annual levels for hires, quits, layoffs and
discharges, other separations, and total separations are the sum of
the 12 published monthly levels. Annual rates are computed by dividing
the annual level by the Current Employment Statistics (CES) annual
average employment level, and multiplying that quotient by 100. This
figure will be approximately equal to the sum of the 12 monthly rates.
Consistent with BLS practice, annual estimates are published only for
not seasonally adjusted data and are released with the January news
release each year. Annual estimates are not calculated for job
openings because job openings are a stock, or point-in-time,
measurement for the last business day of each month.

Sample and estimation methodology

The JOLTS survey design is a stratified random sample of 16,000
nonfarm business and government establishments. The sample is
stratified by ownership, region, industry sector, and establishment
size class. The establishments are drawn from a universe of over 9.1
million establishments compiled by the Quarterly Census of Employment
and Wages (QCEW) program which includes all employers subject to state
unemployment insurance laws and federal agencies subject to the
Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees program.

JOLTS total employment estimates are benchmarked, or ratio adjusted,
monthly to the strike-adjusted employment estimates of the CES survey.
A ratio of CES to JOLTS employment is used to adjust the levels for
all other JOLTS data elements.

JOLTS business birth/death model

As with any sample survey, the JOLTS sample can only be as current as
its sampling frame. The time lag from the birth of an establishment
until its appearance on the sampling frame is approximately one year.
In addition, many of these new units may fail within the first year.
Since these universe units cannot be reflected on the sampling frame
immediately, the JOLTS sample cannot capture job openings, hires, and
separations from these units during their early existence. To
compensate for the inability to capture data from these
establishments, BLS has developed a birth/death model that uses birth
and death activity from previous years. The estimates of job openings,
hires, and separations produced by the birth/death model are added to
the sample-based estimates produced from the survey to arrive at the
estimates for openings, hires, and separations.

Seasonal adjustment

BLS uses X-12 ARIMA to seasonally adjust several JOLTS series
utilizing moving averages as seasonal filters. A concurrent seasonal
adjustment methodology is used in which new seasonal adjustment
factors are calculated each month, using all relevant data, up to and
including current month data. JOLTS seasonal adjustment includes both
additive and multiplicative models and REGARIMA (regression with auto-
correlated errors) modeling to improve the seasonal adjustment factors
at the beginning and end of the series and to detect and adjust for
outliers in the series.

Alignment procedure

The JOLTS measures for hires minus separations can be used to derive a
measure of net employment change. This change should be comparable to
the net employment change from the much larger CES survey. However,
definitional differences as well as sampling and nonsampling errors
between the two surveys historically caused JOLTS to diverge from CES
over time. To limit the divergence, and improve the quality of the
JOLTS hires and separations series, BLS implemented the Monthly
Alignment Method.

This method applies the CES employment trends to the seasonally
adjusted JOLTS implied employment trend (hires minus separations)
forcing them to be approximately the same, while preserving the
seasonality of the JOLTS data. First, the two series are seasonally
adjusted and the difference between the JOLTS implied employment
change and the CES net employment change is calculated. Next, the
JOLTS implied employment change is adjusted to equal the CES net
employment change through a proportional adjustment. This procedure
adjusts the two components (hires, separations) proportionally to
their contribution to the total churn (hires plus separations). The
adjusted hires and separations are converted back to not seasonally
adjusted data by reversing the application of the original seasonal
factors. After the Monthly Alignment Method has been used to adjust
the level estimates, rate estimates are computed from the adjusted
levels.

Reliability of the estimates

JOLTS estimates are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error.
When a sample is surveyed rather than the entire population, there is
a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true"
population values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling
error, varies depending on the particular sample selected, and this
variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. BLS
analysis is generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.
That means that there is a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence,
that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6
standard errors from the "true" population value because of sampling
error. Sampling error estimates are available at 
www.bls.gov/jlt/jolts_median_standard_errors.htm.

The JOLTS estimates also are affected by nonsampling error.
Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to
include a segment of the population, the inability to obtain data from
all units in the sample, the inability or unwillingness of respondents
to provide data on a timely basis, mistakes made by respondents,
errors made in the collection or processing of the data, and errors
from the employment benchmark data used in estimation.

Other information

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay
Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Job openings levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands)(2) Rates(3)
Dec.
2013
Aug.
2014
Sept.
2014
Oct.
2014
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Aug.
2014
Sept.
2014
Oct.
2014
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

Total

3,914 4,853 4,685 4,830 4,847 5,028 2.8 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.5

INDUSTRY

Total private(4)

3,552 4,411 4,219 4,409 4,386 4,510 3.0 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.7

Construction

124 121 112 141 133 147 2.1 2.0 1.8 2.3 2.1 2.3

Manufacturing

288 296 293 287 325 306 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.6 2.4

Durable goods

177 179 179 182 203 196 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.6 2.5

Nondurable goods

111 118 115 105 122 110 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.3 2.7 2.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)

763 821 803 832 883 892 2.8 3.0 2.9 3.0 3.2 3.2

Retail trade

474 500 493 460 523 583 3.0 3.1 3.1 2.9 3.3 3.6

Professional and business services

680 928 941 966 991 1,028 3.5 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.8 5.0

Education and health services(6)

624 866 872 850 795 921 2.9 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.5 4.1

Health care and social assistance

552 789 776 764 715 832 3.0 4.2 4.1 4.0 3.8 4.3

Leisure and hospitality

524 700 661 715 622 646 3.5 4.6 4.3 4.6 4.0 4.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

43 71 52 57 51 55 2.0 3.3 2.4 2.6 2.3 2.5

Accommodation and food services

481 629 608 658 571 591 3.7 4.8 4.6 5.0 4.3 4.4

Government(7)

361 443 466 421 461 518 1.6 2.0 2.1 1.9 2.1 2.3

State and local

311 378 395 361 406 456 1.6 1.9 2.0 1.8 2.1 2.3

REGION(8)

Northeast

688 796 769 767 774 872 2.6 3.0 2.9 2.8 2.9 3.2

South

1,490 1,897 1,816 1,875 1,881 1,922 2.9 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.6

Midwest

836 1,076 1,064 1,077 1,115 1,152 2.6 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.5

West

900 1,084 1,035 1,110 1,077 1,082 2.8 3.4 3.2 3.4 3.3 3.3

Footnotes
(1) Job openings are the number of job openings on the last business day of the month.
(2) Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
(3) The job openings rate is the number of job openings on the last business day of the month as a percent of total employment plus job openings.
(4) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(5) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(6) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(7) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(8) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) Preliminary


Table 2. Hires levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands)(2) Rates(3)
Dec.
2013
Aug.
2014
Sept.
2014
Oct.
2014
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Aug.
2014
Sept.
2014
Oct.
2014
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

Total

4,578 4,742 5,075 5,101 5,054 5,148 3.3 3.4 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.7

INDUSTRY

Total private(4)

4,291 4,450 4,764 4,797 4,742 4,823 3.7 3.8 4.1 4.1 4.0 4.1

Construction

251 330 284 320 311 393 4.3 5.4 4.7 5.3 5.1 6.4

Manufacturing

253 236 279 276 262 271 2.1 1.9 2.3 2.3 2.1 2.2

Durable goods

146 139 160 169 155 161 1.9 1.8 2.1 2.2 2.0 2.1

Nondurable goods

107 97 119 108 107 110 2.4 2.2 2.7 2.4 2.4 2.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)

1,003 1,011 1,020 1,135 1,128 1,100 3.8 3.8 3.8 4.3 4.2 4.1

Retail trade

734 686 693 778 785 768 4.8 4.5 4.5 5.0 5.1 5.0

Professional and business services

980 1,049 1,168 1,110 1,012 1,042 5.2 5.4 6.0 5.7 5.2 5.3

Education and health services(6)

539 514 636 589 572 597 2.5 2.4 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.7

Health care and social assistance

461 437 543 507 504 521 2.6 2.4 3.0 2.8 2.8 2.8

Leisure and hospitality

795 845 887 899 928 922 5.5 5.8 6.0 6.1 6.3 6.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

126 136 142 150 145 139 6.1 6.5 6.7 7.1 6.8 6.5

Accommodation and food services

668 709 745 749 783 784 5.4 5.6 5.9 5.9 6.2 6.2

Government(7)

287 293 311 304 313 325 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5

State and local

259 265 281 275 274 297 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.5

REGION(8)

Northeast

702 728 827 776 778 822 2.7 2.8 3.2 3.0 3.0 3.1

South

1,761 1,872 1,971 2,017 1,973 2,046 3.5 3.7 3.9 4.0 3.9 4.0

Midwest

1,053 1,018 1,139 1,160 1,253 1,174 3.4 3.2 3.6 3.7 4.0 3.7

West

1,063 1,124 1,139 1,149 1,050 1,106 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.4 3.5

Footnotes
(1) Hires are the number of hires during the entire month.
(2) Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
(3) The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(4) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(5) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(6) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(7) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(8) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) Preliminary


Table 3. Total separations levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands)(2) Rates(3)
Dec.
2013
Aug.
2014
Sept.
2014
Oct.
2014
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Aug.
2014
Sept.
2014
Oct.
2014
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

Total

4,468 4,531 4,809 4,863 4,700 4,886 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.5

INDUSTRY

Total private(4)

4,170 4,247 4,500 4,554 4,406 4,573 3.6 3.6 3.8 3.9 3.7 3.9

Construction

287 316 263 304 293 361 4.9 5.2 4.3 5.0 4.8 5.9

Manufacturing

247 237 256 260 226 253 2.1 1.9 2.1 2.1 1.8 2.1

Durable goods

145 134 142 149 126 146 1.9 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.6 1.9

Nondurable goods

102 103 115 110 100 107 2.3 2.3 2.6 2.5 2.2 2.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)

927 987 977 1,052 1,067 1,104 3.5 3.7 3.7 4.0 4.0 4.1

Retail trade

671 681 679 720 729 783 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.7 4.7 5.0

Professional and business services

952 974 1,088 1,074 947 965 5.1 5.0 5.6 5.5 4.8 4.9

Education and health services(6)

517 484 578 564 520 533 2.4 2.2 2.7 2.6 2.4 2.5

Health care and social assistance

442 410 495 484 453 461 2.5 2.3 2.7 2.7 2.5 2.5

Leisure and hospitality

771 818 861 840 854 868 5.3 5.6 5.9 5.7 5.8 5.8

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

116 142 136 133 133 135 5.6 6.8 6.4 6.3 6.2 6.3

Accommodation and food services

655 675 725 707 721 734 5.3 5.4 5.8 5.6 5.7 5.8

Government(7)

297 284 308 309 294 314 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.4

State and local

265 259 277 276 256 284 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.5

REGION(8)

Northeast

732 715 756 779 675 810 2.8 2.7 2.9 3.0 2.6 3.1

South

1,716 1,827 1,943 1,928 1,896 1,996 3.4 3.6 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.9

Midwest

965 996 1,065 1,115 1,072 1,004 3.1 3.2 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.2

West

1,055 993 1,044 1,042 1,056 1,075 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.4

Footnotes
(1) Total separations are the number of total separations during the entire month.
(2) Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
(3) The total separations rate is the number of total separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(4) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(5) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(6) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(7) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(8) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) Preliminary


Table 4. Quits levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands)(2) Rates(3)
Dec.
2013
Aug.
2014
Sept.
2014
Oct.
2014
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Aug.
2014
Sept.
2014
Oct.
2014
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

Total

2,417 2,510 2,735 2,712 2,661 2,717 1.8 1.8 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.9

INDUSTRY

Total private(4)

2,286 2,364 2,574 2,561 2,526 2,577 2.0 2.0 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.2

Construction

85 127 109 106 89 156 1.4 2.1 1.8 1.7 1.5 2.5

Manufacturing

121 121 131 130 109 134 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.1 0.9 1.1

Durable goods

66 68 73 76 56 75 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.7 1.0

Nondurable goods

55 54 59 54 54 59 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)

529 554 565 609 652 649 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.4

Retail trade

383 406 402 439 457 462 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.8 2.9 3.0

Professional and business services

540 454 572 519 451 453 2.9 2.3 3.0 2.7 2.3 2.3

Education and health services(6)

316 297 343 349 342 331 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5

Health care and social assistance

283 263 305 301 306 293 1.6 1.4 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.6

Leisure and hospitality

457 549 566 568 596 593 3.2 3.7 3.9 3.8 4.0 4.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

53 53 53 52 46 48 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.2 2.2

Accommodation and food services

404 496 513 516 549 546 3.3 3.9 4.1 4.1 4.3 4.3

Government(7)

131 145 161 152 135 140 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6

State and local

119 139 150 141 122 129 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.7

REGION(8)

Northeast

342 339 372 374 366 391 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5

South

983 1,030 1,119 1,152 1,125 1,147 2.0 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.2 2.3

Midwest

518 597 665 584 595 565 1.7 1.9 2.1 1.9 1.9 1.8

West

574 544 579 603 575 614 1.9 1.7 1.9 1.9 1.8 2.0

Footnotes
(1) Quits are the number of quits during the entire month.
(2) Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
(3) The quits rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(4) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(5) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(6) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(7) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(8) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) Preliminary


Table 5. Layoffs and discharges levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands)(2) Rates(3)
Dec.
2013
Aug.
2014
Sept.
2014
Oct.
2014
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Aug.
2014
Sept.
2014
Oct.
2014
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

Total

1,702 1,619 1,653 1,757 1,655 1,726 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.2

INDUSTRY

Total private(4)

1,597 1,547 1,573 1,670 1,554 1,613 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.4

Construction

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Manufacturing

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Durable goods

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Nondurable goods

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Retail trade

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Professional and business services

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Education and health services(6)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Health care and social assistance

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Leisure and hospitality

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Accommodation and food services

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Government(7)

105 72 81 87 100 113 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5

State and local

- - - - - - - - - - - -

REGION(8)

Northeast

318 296 300 332 244 350 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.3 0.9 1.3

South

603 639 645 605 623 665 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.3

Midwest

368 332 336 465 398 356 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.5 1.3 1.1

West

412 352 371 355 390 356 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1

Footnotes
(1) Layoffs and discharges are the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month.
(2) Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
(3) The layoffs and discharges rate is the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(4) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(5) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(6) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(7) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(8) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) Preliminary

- Data not available.


Table 6. Other separations levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands)(2) Rates(3)
Dec.
2013
Aug.
2014
Sept.
2014
Oct.
2014
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Aug.
2014
Sept.
2014
Oct.
2014
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

Total

349 402 420 394 384 443 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

INDUSTRY

Total private(4)

287 335 354 323 326 383 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

Construction

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Manufacturing

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Durable goods

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Nondurable goods

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Retail trade

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Professional and business services

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Education and health services(6)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Health care and social assistance

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Leisure and hospitality

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Accommodation and food services

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Government(7)

62 66 66 71 58 61 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

State and local

- - - - - - - - - - - -

REGION(8)

Northeast

- - - - - - - - - - - -

South

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Midwest

- - - - - - - - - - - -

West

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Footnotes
(1) Other separations are the number of other separations during the entire month.
(2) Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
(3) The other separations rate is the number of other separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(4) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(5) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(6) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(7) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(8) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) Preliminary

- Data not available.


Table 7. Job openings levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

Total

3,387 4,402 4,427 2.4 3.0 3.0

INDUSTRY

Total private

3,046 3,981 3,940 2.6 3.2 3.2

Mining and logging

25 26 24 2.7 2.7 2.5

Construction

82 96 103 1.4 1.5 1.7

Manufacturing

260 298 280 2.1 2.4 2.2

Durable goods

159 185 180 2.1 2.3 2.3

Nondurable goods

101 113 100 2.2 2.5 2.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

605 799 700 2.2 2.9 2.5

Wholesale trade

147 165 149 2.5 2.7 2.5

Retail trade

347 468 434 2.1 2.9 2.6

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

111 166 117 2.1 3.0 2.1

Information

79 100 88 2.9 3.6 3.2

Financial activities

222 294 243 2.7 3.5 2.9

Finance and insurance

176 236 191 2.9 3.8 3.1

Real estate and rental and leasing

45 57 52 2.2 2.7 2.5

Professional and business services

642 941 968 3.3 4.6 4.7

Education and health services

572 749 871 2.6 3.3 3.8

Educational services

64 74 82 1.8 2.0 2.3

Health care and social assistance

508 674 789 2.8 3.6 4.1

Leisure and hospitality

413 543 521 2.8 3.6 3.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

26 44 33 1.3 2.2 1.7

Accommodation and food services

387 499 488 3.1 3.8 3.7

Other services

147 136 143 2.6 2.4 2.5

Government

340 421 486 1.5 1.8 2.1

Federal

49 47 59 1.7 1.7 2.1

State and local

291 373 427 1.5 1.9 2.1

REGION(3)

Northeast

568 691 720 2.1 2.5 2.6

South

1,323 1,638 1,716 2.6 3.1 3.2

Midwest

723 1,055 1,037 2.3 3.2 3.1

West

772 1,018 953 2.4 3.1 2.9

Footnotes
(1) Job openings are the number of job openings on the last business day of the month.
(2) The job openings rate is the number of job openings on the last business day of the month as a percent of total employment plus job openings.
(3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) Preliminary


Table 8. Hires levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

Total

3,271 4,634 3,667 2.4 3.3 2.6

INDUSTRY

Total private

3,098 4,396 3,465 2.7 3.7 2.9

Mining and logging

20 28 22 2.3 3.0 2.3

Construction

149 228 228 2.6 3.7 3.8

Manufacturing

164 215 178 1.4 1.8 1.5

Durable goods

96 130 106 1.3 1.7 1.4

Nondurable goods

68 84 71 1.5 1.9 1.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

783 1,388 849 2.9 5.1 3.1

Wholesale trade

85 117 120 1.5 2.0 2.0

Retail trade

549 1,030 576 3.5 6.5 3.6

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

149 242 153 2.8 4.6 2.8

Information

51 69 56 1.9 2.5 2.1

Financial activities

130 198 171 1.6 2.5 2.1

Finance and insurance

84 138 129 1.4 2.3 2.2

Real estate and rental and leasing

46 60 42 2.3 2.9 2.0

Professional and business services

751 922 793 4.0 4.7 4.0

Education and health services

379 453 425 1.8 2.1 1.9

Educational services

41 38 41 1.2 1.1 1.1

Health care and social assistance

338 415 384 1.9 2.3 2.1

Leisure and hospitality

539 742 624 3.8 5.1 4.3

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

87 112 91 4.6 5.7 4.7

Accommodation and food services

452 630 532 3.7 5.0 4.2

Other services

131 153 120 2.4 2.8 2.2

Government

173 239 202 0.8 1.1 0.9

Federal

24 42 23 0.9 1.6 0.8

State and local

150 196 179 0.8 1.0 0.9

REGION(3)

Northeast

504 697 590 1.9 2.6 2.2

South

1,262 1,820 1,471 2.5 3.5 2.9

Midwest

735 1,139 811 2.4 3.6 2.5

West

771 978 794 2.5 3.1 2.5

Footnotes
(1) Hires are the number of hires during the entire month.
(2) The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) Preliminary


Table 9. Total separations levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

Total

4,227 4,139 4,570 3.1 2.9 3.2

INDUSTRY

Total private

3,969 3,933 4,296 3.4 3.3 3.6

Mining and logging

34 29 33 3.8 3.1 3.6

Construction

311 310 370 5.4 5.0 6.1

Manufacturing

212 198 218 1.8 1.6 1.8

Durable goods

126 110 126 1.7 1.4 1.6

Nondurable goods

86 88 92 1.9 2.0 2.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,004 925 1,159 3.7 3.4 4.2

Wholesale trade

88 143 129 1.5 2.4 2.2

Retail trade

718 640 820 4.5 4.0 5.1

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

198 143 211 3.8 2.7 3.9

Information

67 65 61 2.5 2.4 2.3

Financial activities

153 166 200 1.9 2.1 2.5

Finance and insurance

104 108 159 1.8 1.8 2.7

Real estate and rental and leasing

50 58 41 2.5 2.8 2.0

Professional and business services

942 872 941 5.0 4.4 4.8

Education and health services

447 401 454 2.1 1.8 2.1

Educational services

56 37 53 1.6 1.0 1.5

Health care and social assistance

391 364 401 2.2 2.0 2.2

Leisure and hospitality

645 802 717 4.6 5.5 4.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

90 165 102 4.7 8.3 5.2

Accommodation and food services

555 638 614 4.6 5.1 4.9

Other services

155 164 142 2.8 3.0 2.6

Government

258 206 274 1.2 0.9 1.2

Federal

31 31 27 1.1 1.2 1.0

State and local

227 175 247 1.2 0.9 1.3

REGION(3)

Northeast

702 581 797 2.7 2.2 3.0

South

1,571 1,577 1,814 3.1 3.1 3.5

Midwest

971 1,035 970 3.1 3.2 3.0

West

983 946 988 3.2 3.0 3.1

Footnotes
(1) Total separations are the number of total separations during the entire month.
(2) The total separations rate is the number of total separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) Preliminary


Table 10. Quits levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

Total

2,007 2,204 2,220 1.5 1.6 1.6

INDUSTRY

Total private

1,907 2,110 2,111 1.6 1.8 1.8

Mining and logging

15 15 10 1.7 1.6 1.1

Construction

58 65 106 1.0 1.1 1.7

Manufacturing

84 85 96 0.7 0.7 0.8

Durable goods

47 42 54 0.6 0.5 0.7

Nondurable goods

37 43 42 0.8 1.0 0.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

467 556 573 1.7 2.0 2.1

Wholesale trade

35 84 68 0.6 1.4 1.1

Retail trade

340 395 416 2.1 2.5 2.6

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

92 77 89 1.8 1.4 1.7

Information

33 42 33 1.2 1.5 1.2

Financial activities

61 90 86 0.8 1.1 1.1

Finance and insurance

40 52 63 0.7 0.9 1.0

Real estate and rental and leasing

21 39 23 1.0 1.9 1.1

Professional and business services

483 401 384 2.6 2.0 2.0

Education and health services

264 270 270 1.2 1.2 1.2

Educational services

22 22 26 0.6 0.6 0.7

Health care and social assistance

242 248 244 1.3 1.4 1.3

Leisure and hospitality

363 494 478 2.6 3.4 3.3

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

41 33 36 2.1 1.7 1.8

Accommodation and food services

323 461 442 2.6 3.7 3.5

Other services

80 91 74 1.5 1.7 1.3

Government

100 94 109 0.5 0.4 0.5

Federal

10 10 9 0.4 0.4 0.3

State and local

91 84 100 0.5 0.4 0.5

REGION(3)

Northeast

282 294 324 1.1 1.1 1.2

South

817 932 934 1.6 1.8 1.8

Midwest

430 504 446 1.4 1.6 1.4

West

478 473 516 1.5 1.5 1.6

Footnotes
(1) Quits are the number of quits during the entire month.
(2) The quits rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) Preliminary


Table 11. Layoffs and discharges levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

Total

1,885 1,642 1,923 1.4 1.2 1.4

INDUSTRY

Total private

1,790 1,568 1,822 1.5 1.3 1.5

Mining and logging

17 12 21 2.0 1.3 2.2

Construction

241 228 249 4.2 3.7 4.1

Manufacturing

101 100 102 0.8 0.8 0.8

Durable goods

59 60 60 0.8 0.8 0.8

Nondurable goods

42 40 42 0.9 0.9 0.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

467 282 465 1.7 1.0 1.7

Wholesale trade

47 53 55 0.8 0.9 0.9

Retail trade

327 177 309 2.1 1.1 1.9

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

93 52 102 1.8 1.0 1.9

Information

30 19 21 1.1 0.7 0.8

Financial activities

54 45 61 0.7 0.6 0.8

Finance and insurance

31 28 48 0.5 0.5 0.8

Real estate and rental and leasing

23 17 12 1.1 0.8 0.6

Professional and business services

416 429 491 2.2 2.2 2.5

Education and health services

139 102 146 0.7 0.5 0.7

Educational services

32 11 23 0.9 0.3 0.7

Health care and social assistance

108 91 123 0.6 0.5 0.7

Leisure and hospitality

257 281 210 1.8 1.9 1.4

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

47 127 62 2.4 6.4 3.2

Accommodation and food services

210 154 148 1.7 1.2 1.2

Other services

68 70 55 1.2 1.3 1.0

Government

95 74 101 0.4 0.3 0.5

Federal

11 11 7 0.4 0.4 0.3

State and local

84 62 94 0.4 0.3 0.5

REGION(3)

Northeast

353 248 413 1.4 0.9 1.6

South

627 532 697 1.2 1.0 1.4

Midwest

468 468 447 1.5 1.5 1.4

West

438 394 366 1.4 1.2 1.2

Footnotes
(1) Layoffs and discharges are the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month.
(2) The layoffs and discharges rate is the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) Preliminary


Table 12. Other separations levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)
Dec.
2013
Nov.
2014
Dec.
2014(p)

Total

334 293 426 0.2 0.2 0.3

INDUSTRY

Total private

272 255 363 0.2 0.2 0.3

Mining and logging

2 2 3 0.2 0.2 0.3

Construction

12 17 14 0.2 0.3 0.2

Manufacturing

27 13 19 0.2 0.1 0.2

Durable goods

20 7 12 0.3 0.1 0.2

Nondurable goods

6 6 8 0.1 0.1 0.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

70 87 121 0.3 0.3 0.4

Wholesale trade

7 5 6 0.1 0.1 0.1

Retail trade

51 68 95 0.3 0.4 0.6

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

13 14 20 0.2 0.3 0.4

Information

4 5 6 0.2 0.2 0.2

Financial activities

38 31 54 0.5 0.4 0.7

Finance and insurance

32 28 48 0.5 0.5 0.8

Real estate and rental and leasing

6 3 6 0.3 0.1 0.3

Professional and business services

43 42 67 0.2 0.2 0.3

Education and health services

44 28 38 0.2 0.1 0.2

Educational services

3 4 4 0.1 0.1 0.1

Health care and social assistance

41 24 34 0.2 0.1 0.2

Leisure and hospitality

26 27 28 0.2 0.2 0.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

2 4 4 0.1 0.2 0.2

Accommodation and food services

23 23 23 0.2 0.2 0.2

Other services

8 3 12 0.1 0.0 0.2

Government

62 39 63 0.3 0.2 0.3

Federal

10 10 11 0.4 0.4 0.4

State and local

52 28 52 0.3 0.1 0.3

REGION(3)

Northeast

67 39 60 0.3 0.1 0.2

South

127 114 183 0.3 0.2 0.4

Midwest

73 62 77 0.2 0.2 0.2

West

67 79 106 0.2 0.2 0.3

Footnotes
(1) Other separations are the number of other separations during the entire month.
(2) The other separations rate is the number of other separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: Levels are rounded to the nearest thousand and rates are rounded to the nearest tenth. Levels and rates may round down to zero.


Last Modified Date: February 10, 2015