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Economic News Release
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JOLTS JLT Program Links

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release

Technical information:      (202) 691-5870        USDL 08-0332
                   http://www.bls.gov/jlt/
                                                  For release:  10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact:              (202) 691-5902        Wednesday, March 12, 2008


            JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER:  JANUARY 2008

   On the last business day of January, there were 3.9 million job openings in
the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.8 percent, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  The job open-
ings, hires, and total separations rates were essentially unchanged in January.
This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires,
and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic region.
This release also includes annual estimates for hires and separations.  The
annual hires rate decreased in 2007 while the turnover, or separations, rate
was little changed.

   Although the over-the-month changes in job openings, hires, and turnover data
were small, the over-the-year changes were significant. From January 2007 to
January 2008, the job openings, hires, quits, and total separations rates all
fell significantly for both the total nonfarm and total private sectors.  (See
tables 5, 6, 7, and 8.)

Job Openings

   In January, the total nonfarm job openings rate was 2.8 percent, unchanged from
December.  Job openings include only those jobs open on the last business day of the
month.  Over the month, the job openings rate did not change significantly in any
industry or region.  As has occurred nearly every month since 2006, the seasonally
adjusted job openings rate was highest in the accommodation and food services indus-
try (4.0 percent).  (See table 1.)

   Over the year, the job openings rate rose in federal government (to 1.4 percent).
The rate fell over the year for total nonfarm (2.6 percent) and total private (2.7 
percent) as well as in several industries, including construction (1.4 percent); dur-
able goods manufacturing (1.8 percent); retail trade (1.9 percent); transportation,
warehousing, and utilities (2.1 percent); information (2.1 percent); arts, entertain-
ment, and recreation (2.1 percent); other services (1.6 percent); and state and local
government (1.9 percent).  Regionally, the job openings rate fell over the year in
the South (2.8 percent) and in the West (2.9 percent).  (See table 5.)


       ---------------------------------------------------------------------
      |                                                                     |
      |                       Revisions to the JOLTS data                   |
      |                                                                     |
      |   The job openings, hires, and separations data in this release have|
      |been revised to incorporate annual updates to the Current Employment |
      |Statistics employment estimates and the Job Openings and Labor Turn- |
      |over Survey (JOLTS) seasonal adjustment factors.  See page 5 for more|
      |information.                                                         |
       ---------------------------------------------------------------------


                                   - 2 -


Table A.  Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally
adjusted
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     |    Job openings    |       Hires        | Total separations  
                     |--------------------------------------------------------------
     Industry        | Jan. | Dec. | Jan. | Jan. | Dec. | Jan. | Jan. | Dec. | Jan. 
                     | 2007 | 2007 | 2008p| 2007 | 2007 | 2008p| 2007 | 2007 | 2008p
---------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
                     |                     Levels (in thousands)
                     |--------------------------------------------------------------
Total (1)............|4,307 |3,974 |3,925 |4,992 |4,717 |4,545 |4,638 |4,408 |4,311 
                     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
  Total private (1)..|3,846 |3,526 |3,474 |4,630 |4,314 |4,109 |4,315 |4,107 |4,030 
    Construction.....|  191 |  140 |  125 |  305 |  335 |  298 |  385 |  331 |  306 
    Manufacturing....|  344 |  305 |  296 |  371 |  350 |  332 |  415 |  325 |  353 
    Trade, trans-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     portation, and  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     utilities (2)...|  763 |  667 |  656 |1,072 |  970 |  927 |1,028 |  981 |  983 
     Retail trade....|  424 |  358 |  353 |  793 |  693 |  678 |  706 |  686 |  668 
    Professional     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     and business    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     services........|  707 |  706 |  731 |  907 |  851 |  877 |  861 |  814 |  785 
    Education and    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     health ser-     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     vices.......... |  714 |  698 |  692 |  514 |  460 |  500 |  409 |  417 |  437 
    Leisure and      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     hospitality (3).|  566 |  574 |  526 |  951 |  880 |  787 |  799 |  803 |  738 
     Accommodation   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
      and food       |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
      services.......|  491 |  514 |  484 |  841 |  713 |  680 |  634 |  697 |  582 
  Government (4).....|  461 |  446 |  450 |  386 |  390 |  381 |  321 |  295 |  283 
    State and local  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
    government.......|  428 |  398 |  406 |  318 |  326 |  311 |  261 |  256 |  230 
                     |--------------------------------------------------------------
                     |                       Rates (percent)
                     |--------------------------------------------------------------
Total (1)............|  3.0 |  2.8 |  2.8 |  3.6 |  3.4 |  3.3 |  3.4 |  3.2 |  3.1 
                     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
  Total private (1)..|  3.2 |  3.0 |  2.9 |  4.0 |  3.7 |  3.5 |  3.8 |  3.5 |  3.5 
    Construction.....|  2.4 |  1.8 |  1.7 |  4.0 |  4.5 |  4.0 |  5.0 |  4.4 |  4.1 
    Manufacturing....|  2.4 |  2.2 |  2.1 |  2.6 |  2.5 |  2.4 |  3.0 |  2.4 |  2.6 
    Trade, trans-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     portation, and  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     utilities (2)...|  2.8 |  2.4 |  2.4 |  4.0 |  3.6 |  3.5 |  3.9 |  3.7 |  3.7 
     Retail trade....|  2.7 |  2.3 |  2.2 |  5.1 |  4.5 |  4.4 |  4.6 |  4.4 |  4.3 
    Professional     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     and business    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     services........|  3.8 |  3.7 |  3.9 |  5.1 |  4.7 |  4.8 |  4.8 |  4.5 |  4.3 
    Education and    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     health ser-     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     vices...........|  3.8 |  3.6 |  3.6 |  2.8 |  2.5 |  2.7 |  2.3 |  2.2 |  2.3 
    Leisure and      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     hospitality (3).|  4.1 |  4.0 |  3.7 |  7.2 |  6.4 |  5.8 |  6.0 |  5.9 |  5.4 
     Accommodation   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
      and food       |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
      services.......|  4.1 |  4.2 |  4.0 |  7.4 |  6.1 |  5.8 |  5.6 |  6.0 |  5.0 
  Government(4)......|  2.0 |  2.0 |  2.0 |  1.7 |  1.7 |  1.7 |  1.5 |  1.3 |  1.3 
    State and local  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     government......|  2.2 |  2.0 |  2.0 |  1.6 |  1.7 |  1.6 |  1.3 |  1.3 |  1.2 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1 Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and
other services, not shown separately.
   2 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not
shown separately.
   3 Includes arts, entertainment, and recreation, not shown separately.
   4 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
   p = preliminary.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current
Employment Statistics employment estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment
factors.


                                   - 3 -



Hires

   The hires rate was little changed at 3.3 percent in January.  Hires are any addi-
tions to the payroll during the month.  Over the month, the hires rate did not change
significantly in any industry or region.  As occurs nearly every month, the season-
ally adjusted hires rate was highest in January in accommodation and food services
(5.8 percent).  (See table 2.)

   From January 2007 to January 2008, the hires rate decreased for total nonfarm (to
2.8 percent) and total private (3.1 percent) as well as in many industries, including
durable goods manufacturing (2.1 percent); retail trade (3.1 percent); transportation,
warehousing, and utilities (1.9 percent); information (2.2 percent); finance and in-
surance (1.9 percent); educational services (2.0 percent); and accommodation and food
services (4.5 percent).  Regionally, the hires rate fell over the past 12 months in
3 of the 4 regions--South (3.2 percent), Midwest (2.7 percent), and West (2.7 percent).
The hires rate did not increase significantly in any industry or region over the year.
(See table 6.)

Separations

   The total separations, or turnover, rate remained essentially unchanged at 3.1 per-
cent in January.  Separations are terminations of employment that occur at any time
during the month.  Over the month, the separations rate decreased in accommodation and
food services (to 5.0 percent); state and local government (1.2 percent); and in the
West region (3.2 percent).  From January 2007 to January 2008, the total separations
rate rose in wholesale trade (2.7 percent).  The rate fell over the year for total non-
farm (3.1 percent); total private (3.5 percent); construction (4.8 percent); nondurable
goods manufacturing (2.5 percent); transportation, warehousing, and utilities (3.0 per-
cent); educational services (1.3 percent); state and local government (0.9 percent);
and in the South region (3.2 percent).  (See tables 3 and 7.)

   Total separations include quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges
(involuntary separations), and other separations (including retirements).  The quits
rate, which can serve as a barometer of workers’ ability to change jobs, fell in
January in accommodation and food services (to 3.8 percent).  The quits rate did not
rise significantly in any industry or region over the month.  As has occurred every
month since the series began in December 2000, the seasonally adjusted quits rate
was highest in the accommodation and food services industry.  (See table 4.)

   Over the year, the quits rate rose in real estate and rental and leasing (to
1.7 percent); the rate fell for total nonfarm (1.6 percent); total private (1.8 per-
cent); durable goods manufacturing (1.0 percent); nondurable goods manufacturing
(1.4 percent); professional and business services (1.8 percent); and in the Midwest
region (1.5 percent).  (See table 8.)


                                   - 4 -


   The other two components of total separations--layoffs and discharges, and other
separations--are not seasonally adjusted.  For January, the layoffs and discharges
rate (1.3 percent) and level (1.7 million) were essentially unchanged from a year
earlier.  The layoffs and discharges rate in January 2008 was highest in construc-
tion (3.5 percent).  The other separations rate (0.2 percent) and level (289,000)
were slightly lower than a year ago.  (See tables 9 and 10.)

Flows in the Labor Market

   Several industries consistently have high rates of both hires and separations.
These include construction; retail trade; professional and business services;
arts, entertainment, and recreation; and accommodation and food services.  In the
12 months ending in January 2008, these 5 industries produced 33.2 million hires
and 31.7 million separations.  Thus, these five industries accounted for 58 percent
of total nonfarm hires and 58 percent of total nonfarm separations while comprising
only 40 percent of total nonfarm employment.  (See tables 6 and 7.)

Annual Levels and Rates

   This release contains the 2007 annual rates and levels for hires, total separ-
ations, quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations.  (See tables 11
through 20.)  Note that annual figures for job openings are not calculated because
job openings are measured on a stock, or point-in-time, basis rather than on a flow
basis over a specified time period.  The annual figures and additional tables are
published with the release of January data each year.  (See the Technical Note for
additional information on these measures.)

   Calculating annual levels and rates allows additional comparisons across years.
There were 57.8 million hires in 2007, equivalent to 42.0 percent of employment.
Hires were down in 2007 after rising the preceding three years.  Total separations
remained essentially flat for a second year with 54.6 million separations (39.7 per-
cent of employment) in 2007.  Quits followed the same pattern as hires, decreasing
slightly in 2007 to 31.1 million after rising the preceding three years.  Layoffs
and discharges rose in 2007 to 19.7 million after falling in 2006.  Other separa-
tions fell to 3.9 million in 2007, in line with the years 2001 through 2005, after
rising sharply in 2006.

For More Information

   For additional information, please read the Technical Note or visit the JOLTS Web
site at http://www.bls.gov/jlt/.  Additional information about JOLTS also may be
obtained by e-mailing Joltsinfo@bls.gov or by calling (202) 691-5870.

                    ______________________________________________

   The Job Openings and Labor Turnover release for February 2008 is scheduled to be
issued on Tuesday, April 8.


                                   - 5 -


                 Revisions to Job Openings and Labor Turnover Data

   In accordance with annual practice, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
(JOLTS) data have been revised to reflect annual updates to the Current Employment
Statistics (CES), or establishment survey, employment estimates.  The JOLTS employ-
ment levels (not published) are ratio-adjusted to the CES employment levels, and
the resulting ratios are applied to all JOLTS data elements.  This annual benchmark
process resulted in revisions to all not seasonally adjusted JOLTS data series from
April 2006 forward, the time period since the last benchmark was established.  Addi-
tionally, the seasonally adjusted JOLTS data series have been recalculated from
December 2000 forward to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.

   Table B through table G present revised total nonfarm data for January through
December 2007.  The revised data incorporate the effect of applying the new bench-
mark level.  The December 2007 revisions also reflect the routine incorporation of
additional sample receipts into the final December estimates.  Table B (job openings),
table C (hires), table D (total separations), and table E (quits) present revised data
on a seasonally adjusted basis, incorporating the new seasonal adjustment factors as
well as the new benchmark level.  Table F (layoffs and discharges) and table G (other
separations) present revisions on a not seasonally adjusted basis since those series
are not adjusted.

   LABSTAT, the BLS public database on the Internet, contains all revised historical
seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted JOLTS data.  The data can be accessed
through the JOLTS homepage at http://www.bls.gov/jlt/.

   Further information on the revisions released today may be obtained by calling
(202) 691-5870 or via the Internet on the JOLTS homepage.


Table B. Revisions in job openings data, January-December 2007, seasonally 
adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
          |                                   |                                  
          |          Levels (in thousands)    |           Rates (percent)        
   Year   |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
   and    |     As     |    As   |            |     As     |    As   |           
   month  | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
          | published  |         |            | published  |         |           
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
          |            |         |            |            |         |           
   2007   |            |         |            |            |         |           
          |            |         |            |            |         |           
January...|    4,222   |  4,307  |     85     |     3.0    |   3.0   |     0.0   
February..|    4,149   |  4,168  |     19     |     2.9    |   2.9   |      .0   
March.....|    4,176   |  4,201  |     25     |     2.9    |   3.0   |      .1   
April.....|    4,170   |  4,148  |    -22     |     2.9    |   2.9   |      .0   
May.......|    4,095   |  4,133  |     38     |     2.9    |   2.9   |      .0   
June......|    4,280   |  4,267  |    -13     |     3.0    |   3.0   |      .0   
July......|    4,186   |  4,116  |    -70     |     2.9    |   2.9   |      .0   
August....|    4,168   |  4,162  |     -6     |     2.9    |   2.9   |      .0   
September.|    4,119   |  4,080  |    -39     |     2.9    |   2.9   |      .0   
October...|    4,059   |  4,044  |    -15     |     2.8    |   2.8   |      .0   
November..|    4,024   |  3,972  |    -52     |     2.8    |   2.8   |      .0   
December..|    4,039   |  3,974  |    -65     |     2.8    |   2.8   |      .0   
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________


                                   - 6 -


Table C. Revisions in hires data, January-December 2007, seasonally adjusted 
_________________________________________________________________________________
          |                                   |                                  
          |          Levels (in thousands)    |           Rates (percent)        
   Year   |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
   and    |     As     |    As   |            |     As     |    As   |           
   month  | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
          | published  |         |            | published  |         |           
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
          |            |         |            |            |         |           
   2007   |            |         |            |            |         |           
          |            |         |            |            |         |           
January...|    4,959   |  4,992  |     33     |     3.6    |   3.6   |     0.0   
February..|    4,815   |  4,800  |    -15     |     3.5    |   3.5   |      .0   
March.....|    4,815   |  4,828  |     13     |     3.5    |   3.5   |      .0   
April.....|    4,832   |  4,816  |    -16     |     3.5    |   3.5   |      .0   
May.......|    4,982   |  4,875  |   -107     |     3.6    |   3.5   |     -.1   
June......|    4,741   |  4,843  |    102     |     3.4    |   3.5   |      .1   
July......|    4,802   |  4,818  |     16     |     3.5    |   3.5   |      .0   
August....|    4,836   |  4,796  |    -40     |     3.5    |   3.5   |      .0   
September.|    4,714   |  4,700  |    -14     |     3.4    |   3.4   |      .0   
October...|    4,870   |  4,914  |     44     |     3.5    |   3.6   |      .1   
November..|    4,657   |  4,672  |     15     |     3.4    |   3.4   |      .0   
December..|    4,636   |  4,717  |     81     |     3.3    |   3.4   |      .1   
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________


Table D. Revisions in total separations data, January-December 2007, seasonally
adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
          |                                   |                                  
          |          Levels (in thousands)    |           Rates (percent)        
   Year   |-----------------------------------|----------------------------------
   and    |     As     |    As   |            |     As     |    As   |           
   month  | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
          | published  |         |            | published  |         |           
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
          |            |         |            |            |         |           
   2007   |            |         |            |            |         |           
          |            |         |            |            |         |           
January...|    4,602   |  4,638  |     36     |     3.4    |   3.4   |     0.0   
February..|    4,556   |  4,524  |    -32     |     3.3    |   3.3   |      .0   
March.....|    4,741   |  4,663  |    -78     |     3.4    |   3.4   |      .0   
April.....|    4,524   |  4,523  |     -1     |     3.3    |   3.3   |      .0   
May.......|    4,544   |  4,542  |     -2     |     3.3    |   3.3   |      .0   
June......|    4,543   |  4,609  |     66     |     3.3    |   3.3   |      .0   
July......|    4,507   |  4,562  |     55     |     3.3    |   3.3   |      .0   
August....|    4,446   |  4,502  |     56     |     3.2    |   3.3   |      .1   
September.|    4,430   |  4,456  |     26     |     3.2    |   3.2   |      .0   
October...|    4,639   |  4,594  |    -45     |     3.4    |   3.3   |     -.1   
November..|    4,599   |  4,640  |     41     |     3.3    |   3.4   |      .1   
December..|    4,345   |  4,408  |     63     |     3.1    |   3.2   |      .1   
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________


                                   - 7 -


Table E. Revisions in quits data, January-December 2007, seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
          |                                   |                                  
          |          Levels (in thousands)    |           Rates (percent)        
   Year   |-----------------------------------|----------------------------------
   and    |     As     |    As   |            |     As     |    As   |           
   month  | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
          | published  |         |            | published  |         |           
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
          |            |         |            |            |         |           
   2007   |            |         |            |            |         |           
          |            |         |            |            |         |           
January...|    2,648   |  2,689  |     41     |     1.9    |   2.0   |     0.1   
February..|    2,705   |  2,666  |    -39     |     2.0    |   1.9   |     -.1   
March.....|    2,763   |  2,684  |    -79     |     2.0    |   2.0   |      .0   
April.....|    2,637   |  2,604  |    -33     |     1.9    |   1.9   |      .0   
May.......|    2,686   |  2,657  |    -29     |     1.9    |   1.9   |      .0   
June......|    2,627   |  2,612  |    -15     |     1.9    |   1.9   |      .0   
July......|    2,640   |  2,621  |    -19     |     1.9    |   1.9   |      .0   
August....|    2,539   |  2,553  |     14     |     1.8    |   1.9   |      .1   
September.|    2,450   |  2,396  |    -54     |     1.8    |   1.7   |     -.1   
October...|    2,682   |  2,648  |    -34     |     1.9    |   1.9   |      .0   
November..|    2,515   |  2,501  |    -14     |     1.8    |   1.8   |      .0   
December..|    2,461   |  2,494  |     33     |     1.8    |   1.8   |      .0   
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________


Table F. Revisions in layoffs and discharges data, January-December 2007, not
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
          |                                   |                                  
          |          Levels (in thousands)    |           Rates (percent)        
   Year   |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
   and    |     As     |    As   |            |     As     |    As   |           
   month  | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
          | published  |         |            | published  |         |           
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
          |            |         |            |            |         |           
   2007   |            |         |            |            |         |           
          |            |         |            |            |         |           
January...|    1,755   |  1,751  |     -4     |     1.3    |   1.3   |     0.0   
February..|    1,275   |  1,276  |      1     |      .9    |    .9   |      .0   
March.....|    1,374   |  1,350  |    -24     |     1.0    |   1.0   |      .0   
April.....|    1,451   |  1,444  |     -7     |     1.1    |   1.1   |      .0   
May.......|    1,380   |  1,378  |     -2     |     1.0    |   1.0   |      .0   
June......|    1,562   |  1,680  |    118     |     1.1    |   1.2   |      .1   
July......|    1,471   |  1,525  |     54     |     1.1    |   1.1   |      .0   
August....|    1,819   |  1,884  |     65     |     1.3    |   1.4   |      .1   
September.|    1,924   |  1,981  |     57     |     1.4    |   1.4   |      .0   
October...|    1,796   |  1,786  |    -10     |     1.3    |   1.3   |      .0   
November..|    1,769   |  1,817  |     48     |     1.3    |   1.3   |      .0   
December..|    1,785   |  1,802  |     17     |     1.3    |   1.3   |      .0   
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________


Table G. Revisions in other separations data, January-December 2007, not
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
          |                                   |                                  
          |          Levels (in thousands)    |           Rates (percent)        
   Year   |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
   and    |     As     |    As   |            |     As     |    As   |           
   month  | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
          | published  |         |            | published  |         |           
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
          |            |         |            |            |         |           
   2007   |            |         |            |            |         |           
          |            |         |            |            |         |           
January...|      396   |    362  |    -34     |     0.3    |   0.3   |     0.0   
February..|      276   |    286  |     10     |      .2    |    .2   |      .0   
March.....|      305   |    313  |      8     |      .2    |    .2   |      .0   
April.....|      292   |    306  |     14     |      .2    |    .2   |      .0   
May.......|      313   |    310  |     -3     |      .2    |    .2   |      .0   
June......|      419   |    387  |    -32     |      .3    |    .3   |      .0   
July......|      365   |    380  |     15     |      .3    |    .3   |      .0   
August....|      347   |    346  |     -1     |      .3    |    .3   |      .0   
September.|      301   |    305  |      4     |      .2    |    .2   |      .0   
October...|      251   |    246  |     -5     |      .2    |    .2   |      .0   
November..|      285   |    285  |      0     |      .2    |    .2   |      .0   
December..|      324   |    342  |     18     |      .2    |    .2   |      .0   
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________






                                  - 8 -


Technical Note


   The data for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) are
collected and compiled monthly from a sample of business establishments
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Collection

   Each month, data are collected in a survey of business establishments
for total employment, job openings, hires, quits, layoffs and discharges,
and other separations.  Data collection methods include computer-assisted
telephone interviewing, touchtone data entry, fax, and mail.

Coverage

   The JOLTS program covers all private nonfarm establishments such as
factories, offices, and stores, as well as federal, state, and local
government entities in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Concepts

   Industry classification.  The industry classifications in this release
are in accordance with the 2007 version of the North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS).  In order to ensure the highest possible
quality of data, State Workforce Agencies verify with employers and up-
date, if necessary, the industry code, location, and ownership classi-
fication of all establishments on a 3-year cycle.  Changes in establish-
ment characteristics resulting from the verification process are always
introduced into the JOLTS sampling frame with the data reported for the
first month of the year.

   Employment.  Employment includes persons on the payroll who worked or
received pay for the pay period that includes the 12th day of the refer-
ence month.  Full-time, part-time, permanent, short-term, seasonal, sala-
ried, and hourly employees are included, as are employees on paid vaca-
tions 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 contrac-
tors, and consultants are counted by their employer of record, not by the
establishment where they are working.

   Job openings.  Establishments submit job openings information 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 posi-
tion, 2) work could start within 30 days regardless of whether a suitable
candidate is found, and 3) the employer is actively recruiting from out-
side the establishment to fill the position.  Included are full-time,
part-time, permanent, short-term, and seasonal openings.  Active re-
cruiting 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, out-
side 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.


                                  - 9 -

   Hires.  Hires are the total number of additions to the payroll occur-
ring 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 contrac-
tors, or consultants.  The hires rate is computed by dividing the number
of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.

   Separations.  Separations are the total number of terminations of
employment occurring at any time during the reference month, and are
reported by type of separation--quits, layoffs and discharges, and 
other separations.  Quits are voluntary separations by employees (ex-
cept for retirements, which are reported as other separations).  Lay-
offs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the em-
ployer and include 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.  Other separations include re-
tirements, transfers to other locations, deaths, and separations
due to disability.  Separations do not include transfers within the
same location or employees on strike.

   The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separa-
tions by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.  The quits,
layoffs and discharges, and other separations rates are computed simi-
larly, dividing the number by employment and multiplying by 100.

   Annual estimates.  Annual estimates of rates and levels of hires,
quits, layoffs and discharges, other separations, and total separations
are released with the January news release each year.

   The JOLTS annual level estimates for hires, quits, layoffs and dis-
charges, other separations, and total separations are the sum of the
12 published monthly levels.  The annual rate estimates 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.  Note that both the JOLTS and CES annual levels are rounded to
the nearest thousand before the annual estimates are calculated.  Con-
sistent with BLS practices, annual estimates will be published only for
not seasonally adjusted data.

   Annual estimates are not calculated for job openings because job
openings are a stock, or point-in-time, measurement for the last busi-
ness day of each month.  Only jobs still open on the last day of the
month are counted.  For the same reason job openings cannot be cumulated
throughout each month, annual figures for job openings cannot be created
by summing the monthly estimates.  Hires and separations are flow mea-
sures and are cumulated over the month with a total reported for the
month.  Therefore, the annual figures can be created by summing the
monthly estimates.


                                  - 10 -

Sample methodology

   The JOLTS sample design is a random sample of 16,000 nonfarm business
establishments, including factories, offices, and stores, as well as
federal, state, and local governments in the 50 states and the District
of Columbia.  The establishments are drawn from a universe of over
eight million establishments compiled as part of the operations of the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, or QCEW, program.  This program
includes all employers subject to state Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws
and federal agencies subject to Unemployment Compensation for Federal
Employees (UCFE).

   The sampling frame is stratified by ownership, region, industry sector,
and size class.  Large firms fall into the sample with virtual certainty.
JOLTS total employment estimates are controlled to the employment esti-
mates of the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey.  A ratio of CES 
to JOLTS employment is used to adjust the levels for all other JOLTS data
elements.  Rates are then computed from the adjusted levels.

Using JOLTS data

   The JOLTS data series on job openings, hires, and separations are rel-
atively new.  The full sample is divided into panels, with one panel en-
rolled each month.  A full complement of panels for the original data
series based on the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system
was not completely enrolled in the survey until January 2002.  The sup-
plemental panels of establishments needed to create NAICS estimates were
not completely enrolled until May 2003.  The data collected up until
those points are from less than a full sample.  Therefore, estimates from
earlier months should be used with caution, as fewer sampled units were
reporting data at that time.

   In March 2002, BLS procedures for collecting hires and separations data
were revised to address possible underreporting.  As a result, JOLTS hires
and separations estimates for months prior to March 2002 may not be compar-
able with estimates for March 2002 and later.

   The federal government reorganization that involved transferring approx-
imately 180,000 employees to the new Department of Homeland Security is not
reflected in the JOLTS hires and separations estimates for the federal gov-
ernment.  The Office of Personnel Management's record shows these transfers
were completed in March 2003.  The inclusion of transfers in the JOLTS defi-
nitions of hires and separations is intended to cover ongoing movements of
workers between establishments.  The Department of Homeland Security reor-
ganization was a massive one-time event, and the inclusion of these inter-
governmental transfers would distort the federal government time series.

Seasonal adjustment

   BLS seasonally adjusts several JOLTS series using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal
adjustment program.  Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and
removing periodic fluctuations caused by events such as weather, holidays,
and the beginning and ending of the school year.  Seasonal adjustment makes
it easier to observe fundamental changes in the level of the series, par-
ticularly those associated with general economic expansions and contrac-
tions.  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 the data for the current month.


                                  - 11 -

  Prior to the January  2007 benchmark release in March 2007, seasonal adjust-
ment of the JOLTS series was conducted using the stable seasonal filter option
since there were not enough data observations available for the standard use
of moving averages as seasonal filters.  Although the seasonal adjustment of
the JOLTS series is conducted with fewer data observations than is customary,
the number of observations is now above the minimum required by  X-12-ARIMA to
use the normal seasonal filters.  Therefore, the standard use of moving aver-
ages as seasonal filter is now in place for JOLTS seasonal adjustment.  JOLTS
seasonal adjustment now includes both additive and multiplicative seasonal
adjustment models  and REGARIMA (regression  with autocorrelated 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.

Reliability of the estimates

   JOLTS estimates are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error.  When
a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed, 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.  Estimates of sampling errors are available upon request.

   The JOLTS estimates also are affected by nonsampling error.  Nonsampling
error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to include a seg-
ment 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.

   JOLTS hires and separations estimates cannot be used to exactly explain net
changes in nonfarm payroll employment.  Some reasons why it is problematic to 
compare changes in payroll employment with JOLTS hires and separations, espe-
cially on a monthly basis, are:  1) the reference period for payroll employment
is the pay period including the 12th of the month, while the reference period
for hires and separations is the calendar month; and 2) payroll employment can
vary from month to month simply because part-time and on-call workers may not
always work during the pay period that includes the 12th of the month.  Addi-
tionally, research has found that some reporters systematically underreport
separations relative to hires due to a number of factors, including the nature
of their payroll systems and practices.  The shortfall appears to be about
2 percent or less over a 12-month period.

Other information

   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone: 1-800-877-8339.






Table 1.  Job openings levels (1) and rates (2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

                                                      Levels (3) (in thousands)                              Rates

           Industry and region                Jan.   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Nov.   Dec.  Jan.    Jan.  Aug.  Sept. Oct.  Nov.  Dec. Jan.
                                              2007   2007   2007   2007   2007   2007  2008p   2007  2007  2007  2007  2007  2007 2008p

Total (4) .................................  4,307  4,162  4,080  4,044  3,972  3,974  3,925    3.0   2.9   2.9   2.8   2.8   2.8   2.8

                INDUSTRY

 Total private (4).........................  3,846  3,717  3,637  3,597  3,520  3,526  3,474    3.2   3.1   3.1   3.0   3.0   3.0   2.9
  Construction.............................    191    144    128    150    138    140    125    2.4   1.9   1.7   1.9   1.8   1.8   1.7
  Manufacturing............................    344    324    314    303    303    305    296    2.4   2.3   2.2   2.2   2.2   2.2   2.1
  Trade, transportation, and utilities (5).    763    735    679    644    648    667    656    2.8   2.7   2.5   2.4   2.4   2.4   2.4
   Retail trade............................    424    377    357    321    344    358    353    2.7   2.4   2.3   2.0   2.2   2.3   2.2
  Professional and business services.......    707    689    673    758    685    706    731    3.8   3.7   3.6   4.0   3.7   3.7   3.9
  Education and health services............    714    700    712    704    713    698    692    3.8   3.7   3.7   3.7   3.7   3.6   3.6
  Leisure and hospitality (6)..............    566    578    663    614    591    574    526    4.1   4.1   4.7   4.3   4.2   4.0   3.7
   Accommodation and food services.........    491    509    595    543    518    514    484    4.1   4.2   4.9   4.5   4.3   4.2   4.0
 Government (7)............................    461    444    443    448    454    446    450    2.0   2.0   2.0   2.0   2.0   2.0   2.0
  State and local government...............    428    402    403    408    404    398    406    2.2   2.0   2.0   2.0   2.0   2.0   2.0

                 REGION (8)

  Northeast................................    701    695    594    657    629    644    667    2.7   2.6   2.3   2.5   2.4   2.4   2.5
  South....................................  1,696  1,675  1,641  1,629  1,620  1,574  1,527    3.3   3.3   3.2   3.2   3.2   3.1   3.0
  Midwest..................................    808    773    787    747    755    779    746    2.5   2.4   2.4   2.3   2.3   2.4   2.3
  West.....................................  1,073  1,035  1,054  1,014    957    988    976    3.4   3.2   3.3   3.2   3.0   3.1   3.1

   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 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series.
   4 Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
   5 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
   6 Includes arts, entertainment, and recreation, 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.
  NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the
JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors.






Table 2.  Hires levels (1) and rates (2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

                                                      Levels (3) (in thousands)                              Rates

           Industry and region                Jan.   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Nov.   Dec.   Jan.   Jan.  Aug.  Sept. Oct.  Nov.  Dec.  Jan.
                                              2007   2007   2007   2007   2007   2007   2008p  2007  2007  2007  2007  2007  2007  2008p

Total (4)..................................  4,992  4,796  4,700  4,914  4,672  4,717  4,545    3.6   3.5   3.4   3.6   3.4   3.4   3.3

                INDUSTRY

 Total private (4).........................  4,630  4,371  4,325  4,552  4,305  4,314  4,109    4.0   3.8   3.7   3.9   3.7   3.7   3.5
  Construction.............................    305    367    336    331    351    335    298    4.0   4.8   4.4   4.4   4.7   4.5   4.0
  Manufacturing............................    371    350    352    396    353    350    332    2.6   2.5   2.5   2.9   2.6   2.5   2.4
  Trade, transportation, and utilities (5).  1,072    924    977  1,018    946    970    927    4.0   3.5   3.7   3.8   3.5   3.6   3.5
   Retail trade............................    793    677    699    699    655    693    678    5.1   4.4   4.5   4.5   4.2   4.5   4.4
  Professional and business services.......    907    776    799    855    902    851    877    5.1   4.3   4.4   4.7   5.0   4.7   4.8
  Education and health services............    514    504    453    517    527    460    500    2.8   2.7   2.5   2.8   2.8   2.5   2.7
  Leisure and hospitality (6)..............    951    898    888    924    846    880    787    7.2   6.7   6.6   6.8   6.2   6.4   5.8
   Accommodation and food services.........    841    753    732    803    708    713    680    7.4   6.5   6.3   6.9   6.1   6.1   5.8
 Government (7)............................    386    393    359    373    349    390    381    1.7   1.8   1.6   1.7   1.6   1.7   1.7
  State and local government...............    318    319    287    315    287    326    311    1.6   1.6   1.5   1.6   1.5   1.7   1.6

                 REGION (8)

  Northeast................................    797    753    689    653    761    770    770    3.1   2.9   2.7   2.5   3.0   3.0   3.0
  South....................................  1,933  1,835  1,844  1,924  1,828  1,802  1,756    3.9   3.7   3.7   3.9   3.7   3.6   3.5
  Midwest..................................  1,183  1,053  1,093  1,097  1,027  1,045  1,018    3.8   3.3   3.5   3.5   3.3   3.3   3.2
  West.....................................  1,144  1,157  1,048  1,216  1,018  1,067    982    3.7   3.7   3.4   3.9   3.3   3.4   3.2

   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 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series.
   4 Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
   5 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
   6 Includes arts, entertainment, and recreation, not shown separately.
   7 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
   8 See footnote 8, table 1.
   p = preliminary.
  NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the
JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors.






Table 3.  Total separations levels (1) and rates (2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

                                                      Levels (3) (in thousands)                              Rates

           Industry and region               Jan.   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Nov.   Dec.   Jan.    Jan.  Aug.  Sept. Oct.  Nov.  Dec.  Jan.
                                             2007   2007   2007   2007   2007   2007   2008p   2007  2007  2007  2007  2007  2007  2008p

Total (4)..................................  4,638  4,502  4,456  4,594  4,640  4,408  4,311    3.4   3.3   3.2   3.3   3.4   3.2   3.1

                INDUSTRY

 Total private (4).........................  4,315  4,166  4,168  4,314  4,367  4,107  4,030    3.8   3.6   3.6   3.7   3.8   3.5   3.5
  Construction.............................    385    365    355    355    322    331    306    5.0   4.8   4.7   4.7   4.3   4.4   4.1
  Manufacturing............................    415    377    374    393    400    325    353    3.0   2.7   2.7   2.9   2.9   2.4   2.6
  Trade, transportation, and utilities (5).  1,028    957    950  1,010  1,065    981    983    3.9   3.6   3.6   3.8   4.0   3.7   3.7
   Retail trade............................    706    674    683    702    764    686    668    4.6   4.3   4.4   4.5   4.9   4.4   4.3
  Professional and business services.......    861    756    824    935    878    814    785    4.8   4.2   4.6   5.2   4.9   4.5   4.3
  Education and health services............    409    432    414    434    423    417    437    2.3   2.3   2.2   2.3   2.3   2.2   2.3
  Leisure and hospitality (6)..............    799    797    730    761    799    803    738    6.0   5.9   5.4   5.6   5.9   5.9   5.4
   Accommodation and food services.........    634    697    645    651    667    697    582    5.6   6.0   5.6   5.6   5.7   6.0   5.0
 Government (7)............................    321    326    290    286    286    295    283    1.5   1.5   1.3   1.3   1.3   1.3   1.3
  State and local government...............    261    259    219    238    240    256    230    1.3   1.3   1.1   1.2   1.2   1.3   1.2

                 REGION (8)

  Northeast................................    700    683    635    652    860    635    663    2.7   2.7   2.5   2.5   3.3   2.5   2.6
  South....................................  1,816  1,720  1,786  1,764  1,709  1,712  1,661    3.7   3.5   3.6   3.5   3.4   3.4   3.3
  Midwest..................................  1,011  1,006    983    994    974    980    992    3.2   3.2   3.1   3.2   3.1   3.1   3.1
  West.....................................  1,086  1,076  1,038  1,186  1,117  1,117    979    3.5   3.5   3.4   3.8   3.6   3.6   3.2

   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 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series.
   4 Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
   5 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
   6 Includes arts, entertainment, and recreation, not shown separately.
   7 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
   8 See footnote 8, table 1.
   p = preliminary.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the
JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors.






Table 4.  Quits levels (1) and rates (2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

                                                      Levels (3) (in thousands)                              Rates

           Industry and region                Jan.   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Nov.   Dec.   Jan.   Jan.  Aug.  Sept. Oct.  Nov.  Dec.  Jan.
                                              2007   2007   2007   2007   2007   2007   2008p  2007  2007  2007  2007  2007  2007  2008p

Total (4)..................................  2,689  2,553  2,396  2,648  2,501  2,494  2,454    2.0   1.9   1.7   1.9   1.8   1.8   1.8

                INDUSTRY

 Total private (4).........................  2,537  2,407  2,253  2,508  2,361  2,358  2,321    2.2   2.1   1.9   2.2   2.0   2.0   2.0
  Construction.............................    151    141    132    137    116    119    107    2.0   1.9   1.7   1.8   1.5   1.6   1.4
  Manufacturing............................    237    199    183    199    187    182    181    1.7   1.4   1.3   1.4   1.4   1.3   1.3
  Trade, transportation, and utilities (5).    605    556    549    588    572    590    633    2.3   2.1   2.1   2.2   2.1   2.2   2.4
   Retail trade............................  . 438    403    412    432    433    445    478    2.8   2.6   2.7   2.8   2.8   2.9   3.1
  Professional and business services.......    499    394    405    479    398    367    346    2.8   2.2   2.2   2.7   2.2   2.0   1.9
  Education and health services............    264    273    253    264    269    258    278    1.5   1.5   1.4   1.4   1.5   1.4   1.5
  Leisure and hospitality (6)..............    520    542    440    545    557    561    517    3.9   4.0   3.2   4.0   4.1   4.1   3.8
   Accommodation and food services.........    465    496    367    503    516    513    446    4.1   4.3   3.2   4.3   4.4   4.4   3.8
 Government (7)............................    153    145    146    144    140    137    134     .7    .7    .7    .6    .6    .6    .6
  State and local government...............    130    125    123    128    125    120    114     .7    .6    .6    .7    .6    .6    .6

                 REGION (8)

  Northeast................................    332    331    306    338    367    312    351    1.3   1.3   1.2   1.3   1.4   1.2   1.4
  South....................................  1,119  1,069  1,003  1,088    996  1,008  1,035    2.3   2.2   2.0   2.2   2.0   2.0   2.1
  Midwest..................................    606    535    524    524    529    521    505    1.9   1.7   1.7   1.7   1.7   1.6   1.6
  West.....................................    627    618    575    691    607    632    561    2.0   2.0   1.9   2.2   2.0   2.0   1.8

   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 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series.
   4 Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
   5 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
   6 Includes arts, entertainment, and recreation, not shown separately.
   7 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
   8 See footnote 8, table 1.
   p = preliminary.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the
JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors.






Table 5.  Job openings levels (1) and rates (2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                    Levels (in thousands)                  Rates

              Industry and region                  Jan.     Dec.     Jan.          Jan.     Dec.     Jan.
                                                   2007     2007     2008p         2007     2007     2008p

Total...........................................  3,940    3,529    3,597           2.8      2.5      2.6

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  3,517    3,120    3,184           3.0      2.6      2.7
  Natural resources and mining..................     11       13       13           1.5      1.8      1.8
  Construction..................................    150      102       99           2.0      1.4      1.4
  Manufacturing.................................    332      274      286           2.3      1.9      2.1
   Durable goods................................    207      152      157           2.3      1.7      1.8
   Nondurable goods.............................    125      122      129           2.4      2.4      2.5
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    676      563      576           2.5      2.0      2.1
   Wholesale trade..............................    165      152      164           2.7      2.4      2.7
   Retail trade.................................    373      285      305           2.4      1.7      1.9
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    138      125      106           2.7      2.4      2.1
  Information...................................    140       68       63           4.5      2.2      2.1
  Financial activities..........................    220      198      238           2.6      2.3      2.8
   Finance and insurance........................    186      155      184           2.9      2.5      2.9
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     34       43       54           1.6      2.0      2.5
  Professional and business services............    686      653      713           3.8      3.5      3.9
  Education and health services.................    673      670      651           3.6      3.4      3.4
   Educational services.........................     54       57       50           1.9      1.8      1.7
   Health care and social assistance............    618      613      601           3.9      3.8      3.7
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    494      465      459           3.7      3.4      3.4
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     66       44       39           3.7      2.3      2.1
   Accommodation and food services.............     428      421      420           3.8      3.5      3.6
  Other services................................    135      115       86           2.4      2.0      1.6

 Government.....................................    424      409      413           1.9      1.8      1.8
  Federal.......................................     30       45       40           1.1      1.6      1.4
  State and local...............................    393      364      373           2.0      1.8      1.9

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    638      554      608           2.5      2.1      2.3
  South.........................................  1,567    1,407    1,404           3.1      2.7      2.8
  Midwest.......................................    736      683      680           2.3      2.1      2.1
  West..........................................  1,000      884      905           3.2      2.8      2.9

   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 See footnote 8, table 1.
   p = preliminary.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 6.  Hires levels (1) and rates (2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                    Levels (in thousands)                  Rates

              Industry and region                  Jan.     Dec.     Jan.          Jan.     Dec.     Jan.
                                                   2007     2007     2008p         2007     2007     2008p

Total...........................................  4,301    3,462    3,850           3.2      2.5      2.8

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  3,956    3,229    3,510           3.5      2.8      3.1
  Natural resources and mining..................     21       17       20           3.1      2.3      2.7
  Construction..................................    221      208      212           3.0      2.8      3.0
  Manufacturing.................................    360      232      323           2.6      1.7      2.4
   Durable goods................................    226      130      185           2.6      1.5      2.1
   Nondurable goods.............................    134      101      138           2.6      2.0      2.8
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    822      785      714           3.1      2.9      2.7
   Wholesale trade..............................    133      107      138           2.2      1.7      2.3
   Retail trade.................................    554      564      482           3.6      3.5      3.1
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    135      115       94           2.7      2.2      1.9
  Information...................................     93       38       66           3.1      1.2      2.2
  Financial activities..........................    221      145      158           2.7      1.8      1.9
   Finance and insurance........................    165       99      118           2.7      1.6      1.9
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     56       46       40           2.6      2.2      1.9
  Professional and business services............    882      663      851           5.1      3.6      4.8
  Education and health services.................    476      335      464           2.6      1.8      2.5
   Educational services.........................     74       37       60           2.6      1.2      2.0
   Health care and social assistance............    402      298      404           2.7      1.9      2.6
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    725      680      599           5.7      5.1      4.6
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     95      147       90           5.5      7.9      5.1
   Accommodation and food services.............     630      532      509           5.7      4.6      4.5
  Other services................................    134      128      103           2.5      2.3      1.9

 Government.....................................    345      233      340           1.6      1.0      1.5
  Federal.......................................     58       50       60           2.1      1.8      2.2
  State and local...............................    287      183      280           1.5       .9      1.4

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    613      575      600           2.4      2.2      2.4
  South.........................................  1,758    1,317    1,587           3.6      2.6      3.2
  Midwest.......................................    972      726      840           3.1      2.3      2.7
  West..........................................    957      844      823           3.2      2.7      2.7

   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 See footnote 8, table 1.
   p = preliminary.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 7.  Total separations levels (1) and rates (2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                    Levels (in thousands)                  Rates

              Industry and region                  Jan.     Dec.     Jan.          Jan.     Dec.     Jan.
                                                   2007     2007     2008p         2007     2007     2008p

Total...........................................  4,474    4,220    4,154           3.3      3.0      3.1

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  4,221    3,977    3,933           3.7      3.4      3.5
  Natural resources and mining..................     19       26       25           2.8      3.5      3.5
  Construction..................................    429      363      337           5.9      4.9      4.8
  Manufacturing.................................    404      280      346           2.9      2.0      2.5
   Durable goods................................    245      149      224           2.8      1.7      2.6
   Nondurable goods.............................    159      131      122           3.1      2.6      2.5
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........  1,106    1,093    1,057           4.2      4.0      4.0
   Wholesale trade..............................    119      196      162           2.0      3.2      2.7
   Retail trade.................................    791      786      746           5.2      4.9      4.8
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    196      112      150           3.9      2.2      3.0
  Information...................................     76       49       64           2.5      1.6      2.1
  Financial activities..........................    159      202      198           1.9      2.4      2.4
   Finance and insurance........................    114      117      133           1.9      1.9      2.2
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     45       85       65           2.1      4.0      3.1
  Professional and business services............    831      797      760           4.8      4.4      4.3
  Education and health services.................    381      346      401           2.1      1.8      2.2
   Educational services.........................     58       41       38           2.0      1.3      1.3
   Health care and social assistance............    323      304      363           2.1      1.9      2.3
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    671      683      618           5.3      5.1      4.7
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........    105       78      101           6.0      4.2      5.7
   Accommodation and food services.............     566      605      517           5.2      5.3      4.6
  Other services................................    145      140      126           2.7      2.5      2.3

 Government.....................................    253      243      221           1.1      1.1      1.0
  Federal.......................................     53       43       46           2.0      1.6      1.7
  State and local...............................    200      201      175           1.0      1.0       .9

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    690      620      655           2.7      2.4      2.6
  South.........................................  1,709    1,557    1,550           3.5      3.1      3.2
  Midwest.......................................  1,026      974    1,009           3.3      3.1      3.2
  West..........................................  1,048    1,068      940           3.5      3.4      3.1

   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 See footnote 8, table 1.
   p = preliminary.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 8.  Quits levels (1) and rates (2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                    Levels (in thousands)                  Rates

              Industry and region                  Jan.     Dec.     Jan.          Jan.     Dec.     Jan.
                                                   2007     2007     2008p         2007     2007     2008p

Total...........................................  2,361    2,075    2,154           1.7      1.5      1.6

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  2,241    1,977    2,049           2.0      1.7      1.8
  Natural resources and mining..................      7       12       12           1.0      1.6      1.6
  Construction..................................    116       93       81           1.6      1.3      1.2
  Manufacturing.................................    204      131      157           1.5       .9      1.1
   Durable goods................................    121       68       89           1.4       .8      1.0
   Nondurable goods.............................     82       62       68           1.6      1.2      1.4
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    564      541      594           2.1      2.0      2.2
   Wholesale trade..............................     76       73       78           1.3      1.2      1.3
   Retail trade.................................    410      414      451           2.7      2.6      2.9
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     78       54       65           1.6      1.1      1.3
  Information...................................     49       28       38           1.6       .9      1.3
  Financial activities..........................     98       92      123           1.2      1.1      1.5
   Finance and insurance........................     82       46       87           1.3       .8      1.4
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     16       46       36            .8      2.1      1.7
  Professional and business services............    451      310      314           2.6      1.7      1.8
  Education and health services.................    235      215      247           1.3      1.1      1.3
   Educational services.........................     27       20       23           1.0       .7       .8
   Health care and social assistance............    208      195      225           1.4      1.2      1.4
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    427      469      422           3.4      3.5      3.2
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     29       40       41           1.7      2.1      2.3
   Accommodation and food services.............     398      429      380           3.6      3.7      3.4
  Other services................................     90       86       62           1.7      1.6      1.1

 Government.....................................    120       98      104            .5       .4       .5
  Federal.......................................     17       10       14            .6       .4       .5
  State and local...............................    103       88       91            .5       .4       .5

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    282      248      298           1.1      1.0      1.2
  South.........................................    990      839      914           2.0      1.7      1.9
  Midwest.......................................    541      436      452           1.8      1.4      1.5
  West..........................................    547      552      489           1.8      1.8      1.6

   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 See footnote 8, table 1.
   p = preliminary.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 9.  Layoffs and discharges levels (1) and rates (2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                    Levels (in thousands)                  Rates

              Industry and region                  Jan.     Dec.     Jan.          Jan.     Dec.     Jan.
                                                   2007     2007     2008p         2007     2007     2008p

Total...........................................  1,751    1,802    1,711           1.3      1.3      1.3

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  1,679    1,713    1,646           1.5      1.5      1.4
  Natural resources and mining..................      8       11        9           1.2      1.4      1.3
  Construction..................................    285      246      244           3.9      3.3      3.5
  Manufacturing.................................    167      129      157           1.2       .9      1.2
   Durable goods................................     98       69      112           1.1       .8      1.3
   Nondurable goods.............................     69       60       46           1.4      1.2       .9
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    449      451      398           1.7      1.7      1.5
   Wholesale trade..............................     36       98       67            .6      1.6      1.1
   Retail trade.................................    316      312      258           2.1      1.9      1.7
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     97       41       74           1.9       .8      1.5
  Information...................................     22       15       24            .7       .5       .8
  Financial activities..........................     49       88       65            .6      1.1       .8
   Finance and insurance........................     25       51       39            .4       .8       .6
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     24       37       26           1.1      1.7      1.2
  Professional and business services............    325      438      394           1.9      2.4      2.2
  Education and health services.................    105       94      125            .6       .5       .7
   Educational services.........................     29       19       13           1.0       .6       .4
   Health care and social assistance............     77       76      112            .5       .5       .7
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    222      193      167           1.8      1.4      1.3
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     72       35       58           4.1      1.9      3.2
   Accommodation and food services.............     150      157      109           1.4      1.4      1.0
  Other services................................     47       49       62            .9       .9      1.1

 Government.....................................     72       89       65            .3       .4       .3
  Federal.......................................     14       22       15            .5       .8       .5
  State and local...............................     58       67       50            .3       .3       .3

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    349      295      304           1.4      1.1      1.2
  South.........................................    587      621      555           1.2      1.2      1.1
  Midwest.......................................    409      461      466           1.3      1.5      1.5
  West..........................................    406      426      387           1.3      1.4      1.3

   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 See footnote 8, table 1.
   p = preliminary.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 10.  Other separations levels (1) and rates (2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                    Levels (in thousands)                  Rates

              Industry and region                  Jan.     Dec.     Jan.          Jan.     Dec.     Jan.
                                                   2007     2007     2008p         2007     2007     2008p

Total...........................................    362      342      289           0.3      0.2      0.2

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................    301      287      237            .3       .2       .2
  Natural resources and mining..................      4        4        5            .6       .5       .6
  Construction..................................     28       23       12            .4       .3       .2
  Manufacturing.................................     34       21       32            .2       .1       .2
   Durable goods................................     25       12       24            .3       .1       .3
   Nondurable goods.............................      8        9        9            .2       .2       .2
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........     93      101       65            .4       .4       .2
   Wholesale trade..............................      7       25       17            .1       .4       .3
   Retail trade.................................     65       60       37            .4       .4       .2
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     21       17       11            .4       .3       .2
  Information...................................      4        6        2            .1       .2       .1
  Financial activities..........................     12       21       10            .1       .3       .1
   Finance and insurance........................      7       20        7            .1       .3       .1
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........      5        2        3            .2       .1       .2
  Professional and business services............     55       49       52            .3       .3       .3
  Education and health services.................     40       36       29            .2       .2       .2
   Educational services.........................      2        2        3            .1       .1       .1
   Health care and social assistance............     38       34       26            .3       .2       .2
  Leisure and hospitality.......................     22       21       29            .2       .2       .2
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........      4        3        2            .2       .2       .1
   Accommodation and food services.............      18       19       27            .2       .2       .2
  Other services................................      8        5        2            .2       .1      (4)

 Government.....................................     61       56       52            .3       .2       .2
  Federal.......................................     22       10       18            .8       .4       .7
  State and local...............................     39       45       34            .2       .2       .2

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................     59       77       53            .2       .3       .2
  South.........................................    132       98       81            .3       .2       .2
  Midwest.......................................     76       77       92            .2       .2       .3
  West..........................................     95       90       64            .3       .3       .2

   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 See footnote 8, table 1.
   4 Data round to zero.
   p = preliminary.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 11.  Annual hires levels (1) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                       Levels (in thousands)

              Industry and region                  2001     2002     2003     2004     2005     2006     2007

Total........................................... 54,578   49,718   49,294   54,721   57,491   59,158   57,778

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private.................................. 50,401   45,673   45,620   50,858   53,416   54,612   53,158
  Natural resources and mining..................    221      219      216      229      257      242      287
  Construction..................................  4,501    4,421    4,580    4,677    5,150    4,530    4,151
  Manufacturing.................................  4,130    4,062    3,861    4,316    4,112    4,282    4,274
   Durable goods................................  2,239    2,356    2,389    2,718    2,592    2,545    2,437
   Nondurable goods.............................  1,890    1,704    1,470    1,598    1,521    1,742    1,836
  Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 11,984   10,517   10,389   11,988   12,289   12,669   11,843
   Wholesale trade..............................  1,711    1,556    1,481    1,702    1,720    1,618    1,955
   Retail trade.................................  8,621    7,557    7,423    8,392    8,530    8,964    8,219
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...  1,651    1,406    1,489    1,893    2,039    2,087    1,669
  Information...................................    967      799      748      792      881      965      807
  Financial activities..........................  2,207    2,002    2,031    2,292    2,281    2,505    2,634
   Finance and insurance........................  1,444    1,253    1,209    1,354    1,436    1,597    1,804
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........    763      749      820      939      845      909      831
  Professional and business services............  8,521    7,758    7,842    9,416   10,554   10,989   10,379
  Education and health services.................  5,484    5,133    5,164    5,253    5,619    5,888    6,009
   Educational services.........................    686      587      726      713      721      842      882
   Health care and social assistance............  4,798    4,544    4,439    4,541    4,898    5,042    5,127
  Leisure and hospitality....................... 10,397    8,868    8,628    9,670    9,893   10,388   10,661
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........  1,543    1,383    1,349    1,495    1,503    1,545    1,631
   Accommodation and food services.............   8,854    7,484    7,281    8,173    8,391    8,843    9,030
  Other services................................  1,992    1,899    2,160    2,223    2,384    2,152    2,114

 Government.....................................  4,177    4,043    3,674    3,863    4,075    4,546    4,621
  Federal.......................................    513      617      476      464      492      680      873
  State and local...............................  3,667    3,426    3,197    3,399    3,586    3,866    3,749

                    REGION (2)

  Northeast.....................................  9,102    7,900    8,687    9,745    9,331    9,102    8,680
  South......................................... 20,335   19,079   18,705   20,998   22,069   23,327   22,616
  Midwest....................................... 13,439   11,561   10,666   11,931   12,403   12,589   12,955
  West.......................................... 11,703   11,179   11,236   12,048   13,689   14,140   13,527

   1 The annual hires level is the total number of hires during the entire year.
   2 See footnote 5, table 1.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 12.  Annual hires rates (1) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                        Rates

              Industry and region                2001     2002     2003     2004     2005     2006     2007

Total........................................... 41.4     38.1     37.9     41.6     43.0     43.5     42.0

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private.................................. 45.5     42.0     42.1     46.3     47.7     47.9     46.1
  Natural resources and mining.................. 36.5     37.6     37.8     38.7     40.9     35.4     39.7
  Construction.................................. 65.9     65.8     68.0     67.0     70.2     58.9     54.5
  Manufacturing................................. 25.1     26.6     26.6     30.2     28.9     30.3     30.8
   Durable goods................................ 21.7     24.8     26.7     30.5     28.9     28.3     27.6
   Nondurable goods............................. 30.9     29.5     26.5     29.6     28.9     33.7     36.2
  Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 46.1     41.2     41.1     47.0     47.3     48.2     44.5
   Wholesale trade.............................. 29.6     27.5     26.4     30.1     29.8     27.4     32.4
   Retail trade................................. 56.6     50.3     49.8     55.7     55.8     58.4     53.1
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities... 33.2     29.2     31.3     39.3     41.5     41.6     32.8
  Information................................... 26.6     23.5     23.5     25.4     28.8     31.8     26.6
  Financial activities.......................... 28.3     25.5     25.5     28.5     28.0     30.1     31.7
   Finance and insurance........................ 25.0     21.5     20.4     22.8     23.8     25.9     29.3
   Real estate and rental and leasing........... 37.5     36.9     39.9     45.1     39.7     41.9     38.4
  Professional and business services............ 51.7     48.6     49.1     57.4     62.3     62.6     57.8
  Education and health services................. 35.1     31.7     31.1     31.0     32.3     33.0     32.8
   Educational services......................... 27.3     22.2     26.9     25.8     25.4     29.0     29.9
   Health care and social assistance............ 36.5     33.5     32.0     32.0     33.7     33.8     33.3
  Leisure and hospitality....................... 86.4     74.0     70.9     77.4     77.2     79.2     79.1
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......... 84.6     77.6     74.4     80.8     79.4     80.1     82.5
   Accommodation and food services.............  86.7     73.4     70.3     76.8     76.8     79.1     78.5
  Other services................................ 37.9     35.3     40.0     41.1     44.2     39.6     38.5

 Government..................................... 19.8     18.8     17.0     17.9     18.7     20.7     20.8
  Federal....................................... 18.6     22.3     17.2     17.0     18.0     24.9     32.0
  State and local............................... 20.0     18.3     17.0     18.0     18.8     20.1     19.2

                    REGION (2)

  Northeast..................................... 36.2     31.7     34.9     39.2     37.3     35.9     33.9
  South......................................... 43.7     41.4     40.7     44.9     46.1     47.6     45.6
  Midwest....................................... 42.9     37.4     34.7     38.8     40.1     40.4     41.2
  West.......................................... 40.7     39.3     39.6     41.5     45.9     46.3     43.7

   1 The annual hires rate is the number of hires during the entire year as a percent of annual average
employment.
   2 See footnote 5, table 1.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 13.  Annual total separations levels (1) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                          Levels (in thousands)

              Industry and region                  2001     2002     2003     2004     2005     2006     2007

Total........................................... 54,556   49,597   48,294   51,779   54,609   55,199   54,641

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private.................................. 51,406   46,454   45,136   48,479   51,286   51,492   50,925
  Natural resources and mining..................    233      229      218      216      206      219      275
  Construction..................................  4,794    4,531    4,555    4,638    4,847    4,657    4,285
  Manufacturing.................................  6,177    5,121    4,350    4,255    4,469    4,442    4,612
   Durable goods................................  3,800    3,148    2,709    2,661    2,829    2,546    2,734
   Nondurable goods.............................  2,378    1,972    1,641    1,591    1,640    1,894    1,880
  Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 12,324   11,108   10,682   11,704   11,983   12,031   11,859
   Wholesale trade..............................  1,820    1,777    1,647    1,720    1,602    1,732    1,885
   Retail trade.................................  8,725    7,750    7,378    8,177    8,424    8,559    8,301
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...  1,778    1,584    1,657    1,810    1,955    1,739    1,672
  Information...................................  1,181      960      796      927      893      945      824
  Financial activities..........................  2,147    2,099    1,899    2,161    2,134    2,545    2,603
   Finance and insurance........................  1,369    1,330    1,162    1,339    1,367    1,613    1,746
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........    776      772      738      824      769      931      858
  Professional and business services............  7,858    7,078    7,362    8,568    9,816    9,824    9,709
  Education and health services.................  4,779    4,570    4,500    4,710    4,969    5,078    5,131
   Educational services.........................    489      566      627      594      638      677      714
   Health care and social assistance............  4,292    4,001    3,874    4,118    4,331    4,403    4,417
  Leisure and hospitality.......................  9,939    8,737    8,589    9,012    9,674    9,762    9,643
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........  1,370    1,370    1,334    1,493    1,409    1,386    1,419
   Accommodation and food services.............   8,570    7,366    7,257    7,520    8,266    8,379    8,223
  Other services................................  1,977    2,024    2,185    2,285    2,300    1,988    1,988

 Government.....................................  3,150    3,144    3,158    3,298    3,325    3,707    3,715
  Federal.......................................    403      409      468      414      446      656      739
  State and local...............................  2,745    2,734    2,688    2,888    2,880    3,051    2,978

                    REGION (2)

  Northeast.....................................  9,053    8,136    8,283    9,169    8,880    8,483    8,076
  South......................................... 19,710   18,752   18,579   19,356   20,928   21,661   21,289
  Midwest....................................... 13,856   11,307   10,596   11,378   12,032   12,103   11,974
  West.......................................... 11,936   11,403   10,836   11,878   12,773   12,953   13,298

   1 The annual total separations level is the total number of total separations during the entire year.
   2 See footnote 5, table 1.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 14.  Annual total separations rates (1) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                            Rates

              Industry and region                2001     2002     2003     2004     2005     2006     2007

Total........................................... 41.4     38.1     37.1     39.4     40.8     40.6     39.7

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private.................................. 46.4     42.7     41.6     44.1     45.8     45.1     44.1
  Natural resources and mining.................. 38.4     39.3     38.1     36.5     32.8     32.0     38.0
  Construction.................................. 70.2     67.5     67.6     66.5     66.1     60.6     56.3
  Manufacturing................................. 37.6     33.6     30.0     29.7     31.4     31.4     33.2
   Durable goods................................ 36.8     33.2     30.2     29.8     31.6     28.3     31.0
   Nondurable goods............................. 38.9     34.1     29.6     29.5     31.1     36.6     37.1
  Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 47.4     43.6     42.2     45.8     46.2     45.8     44.6
   Wholesale trade.............................. 31.5     31.4     29.4     30.4     27.8     29.3     31.3
   Retail trade................................. 57.3     51.6     49.5     54.3     55.1     55.7     53.6
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities... 35.8     32.9     34.8     37.6     39.8     34.7     32.9
  Information................................... 32.5     28.3     25.0     29.7     29.2     31.1     27.2
  Financial activities.......................... 27.5     26.7     23.8     26.9     26.2     30.6     31.3
   Finance and insurance........................ 23.7     22.9     19.6     22.5     22.7     26.2     28.4
   Real estate and rental and leasing........... 38.1     38.0     35.9     39.6     36.1     42.9     39.7
  Professional and business services............ 47.7     44.3     46.0     52.3     57.9     55.9     54.0
  Education and health services................. 30.5     28.2     27.1     27.8     28.6     28.5     28.0
   Educational services......................... 19.5     21.4     23.3     21.5     22.5     23.3     24.2
   Health care and social assistance............ 32.7     29.5     27.9     29.0     29.8     29.5     28.7
  Leisure and hospitality....................... 82.6     72.9     70.6     72.1     75.5     74.5     71.6
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......... 75.1     76.8     73.6     80.7     74.5     71.9     71.7
   Accommodation and food services.............  83.9     72.2     70.0     70.7     75.7     74.9     71.5
  Other services................................ 37.6     37.7     40.5     42.2     42.6     36.6     36.2

 Government..................................... 14.9     14.6     14.6     15.3     15.2     16.9     16.7
  Federal....................................... 14.6     14.8     17.0     15.2     16.3     24.0     27.1
  State and local............................... 15.0     14.6     14.3     15.3     15.1     15.9     15.3

                    REGION (2)

  Northeast..................................... 36.0     32.6     33.3     36.9     35.5     33.5     31.5
  South......................................... 42.3     40.7     40.4     41.3     43.7     44.2     42.9
  Midwest....................................... 44.2     36.6     34.4     37.0     38.9     38.8     38.1
  West.......................................... 41.5     40.1     38.2     41.0     42.8     42.4     43.0

   1 The annual total separations rate is the number of total separations during the entire year as a
percent of annual average employment.
   2 See footnote 5, table 1.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 15.  Annual quits levels (1) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                          Levels (in thousands)

              Industry and region                  2001     2002     2003     2004     2005     2006     2007

Total........................................... 30,817   26,833   24,881   27,939   30,825   32,179   31,096

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private.................................. 29,127   25,282   23,452   26,375   29,229   30,352   29,334
  Natural resources and mining..................    103       87       83       98      110      124      161
  Construction..................................  1,869    1,657    1,563    1,766    2,098    1,992    1,615
  Manufacturing.................................  2,463    2,142    1,870    2,140    2,288    2,364    2,385
   Durable goods................................  1,423    1,271    1,161    1,322    1,421    1,351    1,343
   Nondurable goods.............................  1,042      870      712      815      868    1,013    1,038
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........  7,499    6,401    5,738    6,581    7,117    7,325    7,021
   Wholesale trade..............................    979      918      845      881      873      969    1,018
   Retail trade.................................  5,591    4,730    4,229    4,927    5,340    5,395    5,167
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    929      756      664      772      904      962      838
  Information...................................    682      496      440      499      581      669      500
  Financial activities..........................  1,259    1,177    1,103    1,315    1,262    1,534    1,538
   Finance and insurance........................    830      767      666      814      850    1,023    1,101
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........    428      410      436      499      412      509      436
  Professional and business services............  4,293    3,679    3,453    4,085    4,698    5,273    5,100
  Education and health services.................  3,184    2,835    2,723    2,933    3,219    3,294    3,232
   Educational services.........................    282      312      293      304      354      364      340
   Health care and social assistance............  2,905    2,526    2,427    2,630    2,865    2,932    2,890
  Leisure and hospitality.......................  6,647    5,605    5,309    5,554    6,396    6,673    6,561
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........    609      619      537      505      596      559      571
   Accommodation and food services.............   6,038    4,989    4,775    5,049    5,802    6,114    5,992
  Other services................................  1,128    1,200    1,176    1,402    1,458    1,101    1,218

 Government.....................................  1,690    1,553    1,428    1,562    1,598    1,830    1,762
  Federal.......................................    254      209      194      163      173      292      252
  State and local...............................  1,436    1,343    1,234    1,397    1,426    1,537    1,508

                    REGION (2)

  Northeast.....................................  4,929    3,971    3,660    4,104    4,504    4,507    4,019
  South......................................... 11,783   10,708   10,200   11,304   12,521   13,628   13,020
  Midwest.......................................  7,727    6,057    5,467    6,034    6,521    6,756    6,558
  West..........................................  6,380    6,097    5,552    6,495    7,283    7,290    7,496

   1 The annual quits level is the total number of quits during the entire year.
   2 See footnote 5, table 1.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 16.  Annual quits rates (1) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                         Rates

              Industry and region                2001     2002     2003     2004     2005     2006     2007

Total........................................... 23.4     20.6     19.1     21.3     23.1     23.6     22.6

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private.................................. 26.3     23.2     21.6     24.0     26.1     26.6     25.4
  Natural resources and mining.................. 17.0     14.9     14.5     16.6     17.5     18.1     22.3
  Construction.................................. 27.4     24.7     23.2     25.3     28.6     25.9     21.2
  Manufacturing................................. 15.0     14.0     12.9     14.9     16.1     16.7     17.2
   Durable goods................................ 13.8     13.4     13.0     14.8     15.9     15.0     15.2
   Nondurable goods............................. 17.1     15.1     12.8     15.1     16.5     19.6     20.5
  Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 28.9     25.1     22.7     25.8     27.4     27.9     26.4
   Wholesale trade.............................. 17.0     16.2     15.1     15.6     15.1     16.4     16.9
   Retail trade................................. 36.7     31.5     28.4     32.7     34.9     35.1     33.4
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities... 18.7     15.7     13.9     16.0     18.4     19.2     16.5
  Information................................... 18.8     14.6     13.8     16.0     19.0     22.0     16.5
  Financial activities.......................... 16.1     15.0     13.8     16.4     15.5     18.4     18.5
   Finance and insurance........................ 14.4     13.2     11.2     13.7     14.1     16.6     17.9
   Real estate and rental and leasing........... 21.0     20.2     21.2     24.0     19.3     23.4     20.2
  Professional and business services............ 26.1     23.0     21.6     24.9     27.7     30.0     28.4
  Education and health services................. 20.4     17.5     16.4     17.3     18.5     18.5     17.6
   Educational services......................... 11.2     11.8     10.9     11.0     12.5     12.5     11.5
   Health care and social assistance............ 22.1     18.6     17.5     18.5     19.7     19.6     18.8
  Leisure and hospitality....................... 55.2     46.8     43.6     44.5     49.9     50.9     48.7
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......... 33.4     34.7     29.6     27.3     31.5     29.0     28.9
   Accommodation and food services.............  59.1     48.9     46.1     47.4     53.1     54.7     52.1
  Other services................................ 21.5     22.3     21.8     25.9     27.0     20.2     22.2

 Government.....................................  8.0      7.2      6.6      7.2      7.3      8.3      7.9
  Federal.......................................  9.2      7.6      7.0      6.0      6.3     10.7      9.2
  State and local...............................  7.8      7.2      6.6      7.4      7.5      8.0      7.7

                    REGION (2)

  Northeast..................................... 19.6     15.9     14.7     16.5     18.0     17.8     15.7
  South......................................... 25.3     23.3     22.2     24.1     26.1     27.8     26.2
  Midwest....................................... 24.7     19.6     17.8     19.6     21.1     21.7     20.9
  West.......................................... 22.2     21.4     19.6     22.4     24.4     23.9     24.2

   1 The annual quits rate is the number of quits during the entire year as a percent of annual average
employment.
   2 See footnote 5, table 1.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 17.  Annual layoffs and discharges levels (1) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                     Levels (in thousands)

              Industry and region                  2001     2002     2003     2004     2005     2006     2007

Total........................................... 19,954   19,023   19,746   20,153   20,014   18,792   19,674

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private.................................. 19,048   18,057   18,628   19,048   18,886   17,578   18,505
  Natural resources and mining..................    107      103       95       70       70       65       85
  Construction..................................  2,697    2,705    2,827    2,677    2,564    2,382    2,465
  Manufacturing.................................  3,186    2,555    2,073    1,799    1,771    1,700    1,867
   Durable goods................................  1,995    1,600    1,285    1,129    1,108      946    1,154
   Nondurable goods.............................  1,197      956      788      673      662      758      717
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........  4,147    3,944    4,151    4,315    4,144    3,709    3,941
   Wholesale trade..............................    727      733      666      706      628      581      752
   Retail trade.................................  2,713    2,534    2,691    2,750    2,651    2,548    2,552
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    706      674      791      860      865      581      634
  Information...................................    415      394      306      360      231      199      235
  Financial activities..........................    645      723      576      605      677      774      854
   Finance and insurance........................    347      409      329      321      356      409      504
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........    298      313      247      283      319      363      352
  Professional and business services............  3,012    2,771    3,367    3,922    4,370    3,822    4,087
  Education and health services.................  1,226    1,369    1,428    1,441    1,415    1,414    1,521
   Educational services.........................    150      209      285      251      239      270      331
   Health care and social assistance............  1,076    1,161    1,143    1,191    1,174    1,144    1,192
  Leisure and hospitality.......................  2,924    2,804    2,941    3,116    2,947    2,807    2,797
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........    728      725      771      957      782      787      806
   Accommodation and food services.............   2,197    2,077    2,173    2,160    2,160    2,019    1,991
  Other services................................    685      686      860      740      701      705      652

 Government.....................................    907      967    1,120    1,102    1,128    1,215    1,171
  Federal.......................................     61      117      164      111      148      184      205
  State and local...............................    846      849      954      994      981    1,031      966

                    REGION (2)

  Northeast.....................................  3,425    3,447    3,899    4,282    3,739    3,220    3,344
  South.........................................  6,566    6,726    7,065    6,741    7,095    6,476    6,986
  Midwest.......................................  5,121    4,394    4,336    4,558    4,656    4,404    4,538
  West..........................................  4,843    4,455    4,450    4,573    4,524    4,694    4,807

   1 The annual layoffs and discharges level is the total number of layoffs and discharges during the entire
year.
   2 See footnote 5, table 1.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 18.  Annual layoffs and discharges rates (1) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                           Rates

              Industry and region                2001     2002     2003     2004     2005     2006     2007

Total........................................... 15.1     14.6     15.2     15.3     15.0     13.8     14.3

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private.................................. 17.2     16.6     17.2     17.3     16.9     15.4     16.0
  Natural resources and mining.................. 17.7     17.7     16.6     11.8     11.1      9.5     11.8
  Construction.................................. 39.5     40.3     42.0     38.4     35.0     31.0     32.4
  Manufacturing................................. 19.4     16.7     14.3     12.6     12.4     12.0     13.4
   Durable goods................................ 19.3     16.9     14.3     12.7     12.4     10.5     13.1
   Nondurable goods............................. 19.6     16.6     14.2     12.5     12.6     14.7     14.2
  Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 16.0     15.5     16.4     16.9     16.0     14.1     14.8
   Wholesale trade.............................. 12.6     13.0     11.9     12.5     10.9      9.8     12.5
   Retail trade................................. 17.8     16.9     18.0     18.3     17.3     16.6     16.5
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities... 14.2     14.0     16.6     17.9     17.6     11.6     12.5
  Information................................... 11.4     11.6      9.6     11.5      7.5      6.6      7.8
  Financial activities..........................  8.3      9.2      7.2      7.5      8.3      9.3     10.3
   Finance and insurance........................  6.0      7.0      5.6      5.4      5.9      6.6      8.2
   Real estate and rental and leasing........... 14.6     15.4     12.0     13.6     15.0     16.7     16.3
  Professional and business services............ 18.3     17.3     21.1     23.9     25.8     21.8     22.8
  Education and health services.................  7.8      8.5      8.6      8.5      8.1      7.9      8.3
   Educational services.........................  6.0      7.9     10.6      9.1      8.4      9.3     11.2
   Health care and social assistance............  8.2      8.6      8.2      8.4      8.1      7.7      7.8
  Leisure and hospitality....................... 24.3     23.4     24.2     24.9     23.0     21.4     20.8
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......... 39.9     40.7     42.5     51.7     41.3     40.8     40.7
   Accommodation and food services.............  21.5     20.4     21.0     20.3     19.8     18.1     17.3
  Other services................................ 13.0     12.8     15.9     13.7     13.0     13.0     11.9

 Government.....................................  4.3      4.5      5.2      5.1      5.2      5.5      5.3
  Federal.......................................  2.2      4.2      5.9      4.1      5.4      6.7      7.5
  State and local...............................  4.6      4.5      5.1      5.3      5.1      5.4      5.0

                    REGION (2)

  Northeast..................................... 13.6     13.8     15.7     17.2     14.9     12.7     13.0
  South......................................... 14.1     14.6     15.4     14.4     14.8     13.2     14.1
  Midwest....................................... 16.3     14.2     14.1     14.8     15.0     14.1     14.4
  West.......................................... 16.8     15.7     15.7     15.8     15.2     15.4     15.5

   1 The annual layoffs and discharges rate is the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire year
as a percent of annual average employment.
   2 See footnote 5, table 1.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 19.  Annual other separations levels (1) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                    Levels (in thousands)

              Industry and region                  2001     2002     2003     2004     2005     2006     2007

Total...........................................  3,784    3,742    3,666    3,689    3,770    4,227    3,868

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  3,231    3,116    3,055    3,056    3,169    3,563    3,088
  Natural resources and mining..................     24       39       43       45       24       31       30
  Construction..................................    227      170      165      198      183      285      203
  Manufacturing.................................    528      423      406      315      407      376      359
   Durable goods................................    386      277      263      210      300      252      233
   Nondurable goods.............................    143      147      144      104      106      124      125
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    677      762      795      810      720      995      897
   Wholesale trade..............................    115      125      132      130      103      183      116
   Retail trade.................................    420      484      458      501      432      615      581
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    141      152      203      178      186      199      200
  Information...................................     84       69       50       65       81       73       87
  Financial activities..........................    240      201      223      243      198      239      208
   Finance and insurance........................    193      153      167      202      161      180      141
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     50       49       56       41       38       59       68
  Professional and business services............    551      627      543      562      745      727      520
  Education and health services.................    365      361      351      333      335      370      377
   Educational services.........................     57       49       48       38       43       43       41
   Health care and social assistance............    311      315      303      294      289      327      335
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    369      326      340      342      332      282      283
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     35       29       30       32       31       39       45
   Accommodation and food services.............     331      298      311      308      301      244      242
  Other services................................    166      135      148      147      142      183      119

 Government.....................................    553      623      610      634      600      663      782
  Federal.......................................     88       86      109      138      128      180      280
  State and local...............................    464      539      500      495      474      479      502

                    REGION (2)

  Northeast.....................................    700      719      724      786      639      757      714
  South.........................................  1,360    1,319    1,313    1,310    1,312    1,557    1,285
  Midwest.......................................  1,011      854      793      784      855      943      876
  West..........................................    714      853      838      810      964      966      992

   1 The annual other separations level is the total number of other separations during the entire year.
   2 See footnote 5, table 1.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Table 20.  Annual other separations rates (1) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                          Rates

              Industry and region                2001     2002     2003     2004     2005     2006     2007

Total...........................................  2.9      2.9      2.8      2.8      2.8      3.1      2.8

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  2.9      2.9      2.8      2.8      2.8      3.1      2.7
  Natural resources and mining..................  4.0      6.7      7.5      7.6      3.8      4.5      4.1
  Construction..................................  3.3      2.5      2.4      2.8      2.5      3.7      2.7
  Manufacturing.................................  3.2      2.8      2.8      2.2      2.9      2.7      2.6
   Durable goods................................  3.7      2.9      2.9      2.4      3.4      2.8      2.6
   Nondurable goods.............................  2.3      2.5      2.6      1.9      2.0      2.4      2.5
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........  2.6      3.0      3.1      3.2      2.8      3.8      3.4
   Wholesale trade..............................  2.0      2.2      2.4      2.3      1.8      3.1      1.9
   Retail trade.................................  2.8      3.2      3.1      3.3      2.8      4.0      3.8
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...  2.8      3.2      4.3      3.7      3.8      4.0      3.9
  Information...................................  2.3      2.0      1.6      2.1      2.6      2.4      2.9
  Financial activities..........................  3.1      2.6      2.8      3.0      2.4      2.9      2.5
   Finance and insurance........................  3.3      2.6      2.8      3.4      2.7      2.9      2.3
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........  2.5      2.4      2.7      2.0      1.8      2.7      3.1
  Professional and business services............  3.3      3.9      3.4      3.4      4.4      4.1      2.9
  Education and health services.................  2.3      2.2      2.1      2.0      1.9      2.1      2.1
   Educational services.........................  2.3      1.9      1.8      1.4      1.5      1.5      1.4
   Health care and social assistance............  2.4      2.3      2.2      2.1      2.0      2.2      2.2
  Leisure and hospitality.......................  3.1      2.7      2.8      2.7      2.6      2.2      2.1
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........  1.9      1.6      1.7      1.7      1.6      2.0      2.3
   Accommodation and food services.............   3.2      2.9      3.0      2.9      2.8      2.2      2.1
  Other services................................  3.2      2.5      2.7      2.7      2.6      3.4      2.2

 Government.....................................  2.6      2.9      2.8      2.9      2.8      3.0      3.5
  Federal.......................................  3.2      3.1      3.9      5.1      4.7      6.6     10.3
  State and local...............................  2.5      2.9      2.7      2.6      2.5      2.5      2.6

                    REGION (2)

  Northeast.....................................  2.8      2.9      2.9      3.2      2.6      3.0      2.8
  South.........................................  2.9      2.9      2.9      2.8      2.7      3.2      2.6
  Midwest.......................................  3.2      2.8      2.6      2.5      2.8      3.0      2.8
  West..........................................  2.5      3.0      3.0      2.8      3.2      3.2      3.2

   1 The annual other separations rate is the number of other separations during the entire year as a
percent of annual average employment.
   2 See footnote 5, table 1.
   NOTE:  Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics
employment estimates.






Last Modified Date: March 12, 2008