For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, July 11, 2017	USDL-17-0959

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

                         JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER – MAY 2017

The number of job openings decreased to 5.7 million on the last business day of May, the U.S. Bureau 
of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires increased to 5.5 million and separations 
increased to 5.3 million. Within separations, the quits rate was little changed at 2.2 percent and the 
layoffs and discharges rate was unchanged at 1.1 percent. This release includes estimates of the number 
and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry and by four 
geographic regions.

Job Openings

On the last business day of May, the job openings level decreased to 5.7 million (-301,000). The job 
openings rate was 3.7 percent. The number of job openings decreased for total private (-283,000) and 
was little changed for government. Job openings increased in retail trade (+72,000) and educational 
services (+17,000). Job openings decreased in a number of industries with the largest decreases 
occurring in construction (-46,000) and transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-45,000). The number 
of job openings decreased in the Midwest region. (See table 1.)

Hires

The number of hires rose to 5.5 million (+429,000) in May. The hires rate was 3.7 percent. The number 
of hires increased for total private (+423,000) and was little changed for government. Hires increased in 
professional and business services (+121,000), other services (+78,000), and educational services 
(+25,000). The number of hires increased in the South region. (See table 2.)
Separations

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

The number of total separations increased to 5.3 million (+251,000) in May. The total separations rate 
was 3.6 percent. Total separations increased for total private (+245,000) and was little changed for 
government. Total separations increased in retail trade (+73,000) but decreased in federal government
(-8,000). The number of total separations rose in the South region. (See table 3.)

The number of quits increased to 3.2 million (+177,000) in May. The quits rate was 2.2 percent. The 
number of quits rose for total private (+159,000) and for government (+19,000). Quits increased in a 
number of industries with the largest increases occurring in retail trade (+66,000) and transportation, 
warehousing, and utilities (+20,000). The number of quits decreased in arts, entertainment, and 
recreation (-15,000). The number of quits increased in the South region. (See table 4.)

There were 1.7 million layoffs and discharges in May, little changed from April. The layoffs and 
discharges rate was 1.1 percent in May. The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed for 
total private and for government. The layoffs and discharges level increased in professional and business 
services (+77,000). The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed in all four regions.
(See table 5.)

The number of other separations was little changed in May. Other separations was essentially 
unchanged for total private and for government. Other separations increased in educational services 
(+4,000) but decreased in federal government (-3,000). In all four regions, the number of other 
separations was little changed. (See table 6.)

Net Change in Employment

Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout the business cycle. Net 
employment change results from the relationship between hires and separations. When the number of 
hires exceeds the number of separations, employment rises, even if the hires level is steady or declining. 
Conversely, when the number of hires is less than the number of separations, employment declines, even 
if the hires level is steady or rising. Over the 12 months ending in May, hires totaled 63.2 million and 
separations totaled 60.9 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.4 million. These totals include 
workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.

____________
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for June 2017 are scheduled to be released 
on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).

Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally adjusted

Category	Job openings			Hires			Total separations
	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
LEVELS BY INDUSTRY (in thousands)
Total	5,582	5,967	5,666	5,153	5,043	5,472	5,101	5,008	5,259
Total private	5,044	5,410	5,127	4,781	4,720	5,143	4,762	4,681	4,926
Mining and logging(1)	10	24	12	21	32	37	27	23	27
Construction(1)	187	200	154	314	375	381	330	377	355
Manufacturing	344	365	343	267	314	332	294	317	327
Durable goods(1)	187	207	199	157	164	180	181	162	172
Nondurable goods(1)	157	158	144	111	150	152	113	155	155
Trade, transportation, and utilities	949	967	976	1,018	969	1,046	1,012	948	1,052
Wholesale trade(1)	154	210	192	135	116	130	131	116	126
Retail trade	594	566	638	700	677	718	693	663	736
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities(1)	202	190	145	184	176	198	188	168	190
Information(1)	90	109	93	69	58	74	78	74	78
Financial activities	294	388	332	184	185	221	178	184	217
Finance and insurance	238	283	250	123	119	146	118	110	134
Real estate and rental and leasing(1)	56	105	82	62	66	75	60	74	82
Professional and business services	1,203	1,093	1,036	1,105	1,006	1,127	1,071	1,001	1,090
Education and health services	1,053	1,111	1,079	655	614	675	604	594	612
Educational services(1)	94	91	108	115	97	122	100	86	97
Health care and social assistance	959	1,020	971	539	518	553	504	508	515
Leisure and hospitality	746	827	817	975	953	960	989	943	949
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	71	66	62	139	151	136	150	133	133
Accommodation and food services	675	761	755	836	802	824	840	810	816
Other services(1)	168	327	285	173	213	291	178	220	219
Government	538	557	539	373	324	329	339	328	333
Federal(1)	101	93	99	47	34	30	29	34	26
State and local	438	464	440	326	290	299	310	293	307
State and local education	145	166	153	166	140	141	152	147	142
State and local, excluding education(1)	292	298	287	160	150	158	158	147	165
RATES BY INDUSTRY (percent)
Total	3.7	3.9	3.7	3.6	3.5	3.7	3.5	3.4	3.6
Total private	4.0	4.2	4.0	3.9	3.8	4.2	3.9	3.8	4.0
Mining and logging(1)	1.4	3.3	1.7	3.2	4.5	5.2	4.0	3.3	3.8
Construction(1)	2.7	2.8	2.2	4.7	5.5	5.5	4.9	5.5	5.2
Manufacturing	2.7	2.9	2.7	2.2	2.5	2.7	2.4	2.6	2.6
Durable goods(1)	2.4	2.6	2.5	2.0	2.1	2.3	2.4	2.1	2.2
Nondurable goods(1)	3.3	3.3	3.0	2.4	3.2	3.3	2.4	3.3	3.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.7	3.5	3.8	3.7	3.5	3.8
Wholesale trade(1)	2.6	3.4	3.2	2.3	2.0	2.2	2.2	2.0	2.1
Retail trade	3.6	3.5	3.9	4.4	4.3	4.5	4.4	4.2	4.6
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities(1)	3.5	3.3	2.5	3.3	3.1	3.5	3.4	3.0	3.4
Information(1)	3.2	3.8	3.3	2.5	2.1	2.7	2.8	2.7	2.9
Financial activities	3.4	4.4	3.8	2.2	2.2	2.6	2.2	2.2	2.6
Finance and insurance	3.7	4.3	3.9	2.0	1.9	2.3	1.9	1.8	2.2
Real estate and rental and leasing(1)	2.5	4.6	3.6	2.9	3.0	3.4	2.8	3.4	3.8
Professional and business services	5.7	5.0	4.8	5.5	4.9	5.5	5.3	4.9	5.3
Education and health services	4.5	4.6	4.5	2.9	2.7	2.9	2.7	2.6	2.7
Educational services(1)	2.6	2.4	2.9	3.2	2.7	3.3	2.8	2.4	2.7
Health care and social assistance	4.8	5.0	4.8	2.8	2.7	2.8	2.7	2.6	2.7
Leisure and hospitality	4.6	5.0	4.9	6.3	6.0	6.0	6.4	5.9	6.0
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	3.1	2.8	2.7	6.3	6.7	6.0	6.8	5.9	5.9
Accommodation and food services	4.8	5.3	5.2	6.3	5.9	6.0	6.3	6.0	6.0
Other services(1)	2.9	5.4	4.7	3.1	3.7	5.1	3.1	3.8	3.8
Government	2.4	2.4	2.4	1.7	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Federal(1)	3.5	3.2	3.4	1.7	1.2	1.1	1.0	1.2	0.9
State and local	2.2	2.3	2.2	1.7	1.5	1.5	1.6	1.5	1.6
State and local education	1.4	1.6	1.5	1.6	1.3	1.4	1.5	1.4	1.4
State and local, excluding education(1)	3.1	3.2	3.1	1.8	1.6	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.8
Footnotes (1) No regular seasonal movements could be identified in the job openings series, therefore, the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data are identical. (p) Preliminary

Technical Note


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

Coverage and collection

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

Concepts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sample and estimation methodology

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

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

JOLTS business birth/death model

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

Seasonal adjustment

BLS uses X-13 ARIMA to seasonally adjust several JOLTS series
utilizing moving averages as seasonal filters. A concurrent seasonal
adjustment methodology is used in which new seasonal adjustment
factors are calculated each month, using all relevant data, up to and
including current month data. JOLTS seasonal adjustment includes both
additive and multiplicative models and REGARIMA (regression with auto-
correlated errors) modeling to improve the seasonal adjustment factors
at the beginning and end of the series and to detect and adjust for
outliers in the series.

Alignment procedure

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

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

Reliability of the estimates

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

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

Other information

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

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

Industry and region	Levels (in thousands)						Rates(2)
	May 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
Total	5,582	5,625	5,682	5,785	5,967	5,666	3.7	3.7	3.8	3.8	3.9	3.7
INDUSTRY
Total private	5,044	5,133	5,179	5,244	5,410	5,127	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.1	4.2	4.0
Mining and logging(3)	10	25	20	25	24	12	1.4	3.5	2.9	3.4	3.3	1.7
Construction(3)	187	142	181	161	200	154	2.7	2.0	2.6	2.3	2.8	2.2
Manufacturing	344	361	364	404	365	343	2.7	2.8	2.9	3.2	2.9	2.7
Durable goods(3)	187	206	209	230	207	199	2.4	2.6	2.6	2.9	2.6	2.5
Nondurable goods(3)	157	155	155	174	158	144	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.6	3.3	3.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	949	959	928	948	967	976	3.4	3.4	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.4
Wholesale trade(3)	154	201	175	183	210	192	2.6	3.3	2.9	3.0	3.4	3.2
Retail trade	594	581	579	593	566	638	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.5	3.9
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities(3)	202	177	174	172	190	145	3.5	3.1	3.0	3.0	3.3	2.5
Information(3)	90	73	75	83	109	93	3.2	2.6	2.7	3.0	3.8	3.3
Financial activities	294	388	360	327	388	332	3.4	4.4	4.1	3.7	4.4	3.8
Finance and insurance	238	248	285	260	283	250	3.7	3.8	4.4	4.0	4.3	3.9
Real estate and rental and leasing(3)	56	140	75	68	105	82	2.5	6.0	3.3	3.0	4.6	3.6
Professional and business services	1,203	1,056	976	1,152	1,093	1,036	5.7	4.9	4.5	5.3	5.0	4.8
Education and health services	1,053	1,158	1,241	1,103	1,111	1,079	4.5	4.8	5.1	4.6	4.6	4.5
Educational services(3)	94	93	126	87	91	108	2.6	2.5	3.4	2.3	2.4	2.9
Health care and social assistance	959	1,065	1,115	1,016	1,020	971	4.8	5.2	5.5	5.0	5.0	4.8
Leisure and hospitality	746	729	784	735	827	817	4.6	4.4	4.7	4.4	5.0	4.9
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	71	83	92	77	66	62	3.1	3.6	3.9	3.3	2.8	2.7
Accommodation and food services	675	646	693	657	761	755	4.8	4.6	4.9	4.6	5.3	5.2
Other services(3)	168	241	250	306	327	285	2.9	4.0	4.2	5.1	5.4	4.7
Government	538	492	503	541	557	539	2.4	2.2	2.2	2.4	2.4	2.4
Federal(3)	101	82	83	91	93	99	3.5	2.8	2.9	3.1	3.2	3.4
State and local	438	410	420	450	464	440	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.3	2.3	2.2
State and local education	145	161	140	163	166	153	1.4	1.5	1.3	1.5	1.6	1.5
State and local, excluding education(3)	292	249	280	288	298	287	3.1	2.7	3.0	3.1	3.2	3.1
REGION(4)
Northeast	933	998	1,102	1,033	1,103	1,048	3.4	3.6	3.9	3.7	3.9	3.7
South	2,049	2,024	2,060	2,160	2,190	2,062	3.8	3.7	3.7	3.9	4.0	3.7
Midwest	1,313	1,324	1,285	1,349	1,424	1,301	3.9	3.9	3.8	4.0	4.2	3.8
West	1,287	1,279	1,236	1,243	1,250	1,256	3.8	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6
Footnotes (1) Job openings are the number of job openings on the last business day of the month. (2) The job openings rate is the number of job openings on the last business day of the month as a percent of total employment plus job openings. (3) No regular seasonal movements could be identified in this series; therefore, identical numbers appear for the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted series. (4) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (p) Preliminary

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

Industry and region	Levels (in thousands)						Rates(2)
	May 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
Total	5,153	5,424	5,249	5,304	5,043	5,472	3.6	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.5	3.7
INDUSTRY
Total private	4,781	5,067	4,905	4,975	4,720	5,143	3.9	4.1	4.0	4.0	3.8	4.2
Mining and logging	21	30	39	30	32	37	3.2	4.4	5.7	4.3	4.5	5.2
Construction	314	387	367	372	375	381	4.7	5.7	5.3	5.4	5.5	5.5
Manufacturing	267	304	296	325	314	332	2.2	2.5	2.4	2.6	2.5	2.7
Durable goods	157	165	154	177	164	180	2.0	2.1	2.0	2.3	2.1	2.3
Nondurable goods	111	139	142	147	150	152	2.4	3.0	3.0	3.2	3.2	3.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,018	1,023	1,090	1,051	969	1,046	3.7	3.7	4.0	3.8	3.5	3.8
Wholesale trade	135	140	139	129	116	130	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.2	2.0	2.2
Retail trade	700	682	757	725	677	718	4.4	4.3	4.8	4.6	4.3	4.5
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	184	201	194	197	176	198	3.3	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.1	3.5
Information	69	80	76	77	58	74	2.5	2.9	2.8	2.8	2.1	2.7
Financial activities	184	220	190	214	185	221	2.2	2.6	2.3	2.5	2.2	2.6
Finance and insurance	123	150	122	138	119	146	2.0	2.4	2.0	2.2	1.9	2.3
Real estate and rental and leasing	62	70	68	76	66	75	2.9	3.2	3.1	3.5	3.0	3.4
Professional and business services	1,105	1,128	1,044	1,060	1,006	1,127	5.5	5.5	5.1	5.2	4.9	5.5
Education and health services	655	646	622	679	614	675	2.9	2.8	2.7	3.0	2.7	2.9
Educational services	115	79	81	96	97	122	3.2	2.2	2.2	2.7	2.7	3.3
Health care and social assistance	539	567	541	582	518	553	2.8	2.9	2.8	3.0	2.7	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	975	1,015	981	967	953	960	6.3	6.4	6.2	6.1	6.0	6.0
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	139	146	151	119	151	136	6.3	6.5	6.7	5.3	6.7	6.0
Accommodation and food services	836	869	831	849	802	824	6.3	6.4	6.1	6.3	5.9	6.0
Other services	173	233	199	200	213	291	3.1	4.1	3.5	3.5	3.7	5.1
Government	373	357	344	329	324	329	1.7	1.6	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Federal	47	46	35	34	34	30	1.7	1.6	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.1
State and local	326	312	308	295	290	299	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.5	1.5
State and local education	166	159	151	143	140	141	1.6	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.3	1.4
State and local, excluding education	160	153	157	152	150	158	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.7
REGION(3)
Northeast	789	898	864	864	888	962	3.0	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.3	3.6
South	1,965	2,091	2,105	2,057	1,963	2,155	3.7	3.9	4.0	3.9	3.7	4.0
Midwest	1,171	1,162	1,123	1,131	1,083	1,177	3.7	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.3	3.6
West	1,228	1,273	1,157	1,252	1,110	1,178	3.7	3.8	3.5	3.8	3.3	3.5
Footnotes (1) Hires are the number of hires during the entire month. (2) The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment. (3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (p) Preliminary

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

Industry and region	Levels (in thousands)						Rates(2)
	May 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
Total	5,101	5,247	5,008	5,198	5,008	5,259	3.5	3.6	3.4	3.6	3.4	3.6
INDUSTRY
Total private	4,762	4,908	4,662	4,882	4,681	4,926	3.9	4.0	3.8	4.0	3.8	4.0
Mining and logging	27	32	32	25	23	27	4.0	4.8	4.7	3.6	3.3	3.8
Construction	330	361	339	374	377	355	4.9	5.3	4.9	5.4	5.5	5.2
Manufacturing	294	304	280	318	317	327	2.4	2.5	2.3	2.6	2.6	2.6
Durable goods	181	163	155	173	162	172	2.4	2.1	2.0	2.2	2.1	2.2
Nondurable goods	113	141	125	146	155	155	2.4	3.0	2.7	3.1	3.3	3.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,012	1,012	1,056	1,063	948	1,052	3.7	3.7	3.9	3.9	3.5	3.8
Wholesale trade	131	150	135	132	116	126	2.2	2.5	2.3	2.2	2.0	2.1
Retail trade	693	670	749	745	663	736	4.4	4.2	4.7	4.7	4.2	4.6
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	188	192	171	186	168	190	3.4	3.4	3.1	3.3	3.0	3.4
Information	78	87	79	79	74	78	2.8	3.2	2.9	2.9	2.7	2.9
Financial activities	178	198	182	201	184	217	2.2	2.4	2.2	2.4	2.2	2.6
Finance and insurance	118	133	127	126	110	134	1.9	2.1	2.0	2.0	1.8	2.2
Real estate and rental and leasing	60	65	55	75	74	82	2.8	3.0	2.5	3.4	3.4	3.8
Professional and business services	1,071	1,068	999	1,033	1,001	1,090	5.3	5.2	4.9	5.0	4.9	5.3
Education and health services	604	639	548	635	594	612	2.7	2.8	2.4	2.8	2.6	2.7
Educational services	100	82	59	90	86	97	2.8	2.3	1.6	2.5	2.4	2.7
Health care and social assistance	504	557	488	545	508	515	2.7	2.9	2.5	2.8	2.6	2.7
Leisure and hospitality	989	987	968	966	943	949	6.4	6.3	6.1	6.1	5.9	6.0
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	150	135	140	137	133	133	6.8	6.0	6.2	6.1	5.9	5.9
Accommodation and food services	840	852	828	829	810	816	6.3	6.3	6.1	6.1	6.0	6.0
Other services	178	219	179	188	220	219	3.1	3.8	3.1	3.3	3.8	3.8
Government	339	339	347	315	328	333	1.5	1.5	1.6	1.4	1.5	1.5
Federal	29	38	35	37	34	26	1.0	1.4	1.2	1.3	1.2	0.9
State and local	310	301	312	278	293	307	1.6	1.5	1.6	1.4	1.5	1.6
State and local education	152	151	168	130	147	142	1.5	1.5	1.6	1.2	1.4	1.4
State and local, excluding education	158	149	144	148	147	165	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.8
REGION(3)
Northeast	769	840	866	816	808	843	2.9	3.1	3.2	3.0	3.0	3.1
South	1,995	1,991	1,971	2,057	1,992	2,178	3.8	3.8	3.7	3.9	3.7	4.1
Midwest	1,161	1,177	1,057	1,162	1,044	1,104	3.6	3.6	3.3	3.6	3.2	3.4
West	1,175	1,239	1,114	1,163	1,165	1,133	3.6	3.7	3.3	3.5	3.5	3.4
Footnotes (1) Total separations are the number of total separations during the entire month. (2) The total separations rate is the number of total separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment. (3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (p) Preliminary

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

Industry and region	Levels (in thousands)						Rates(2)
	May 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
Total	3,005	3,186	3,036	3,138	3,044	3,221	2.1	2.2	2.1	2.2	2.1	2.2
INDUSTRY
Total private	2,841	3,011	2,865	2,962	2,887	3,046	2.3	2.4	2.3	2.4	2.3	2.5
Mining and logging	11	13	17	13	11	14	1.7	2.0	2.5	1.9	1.6	2.0
Construction	118	151	162	164	159	140	1.8	2.2	2.4	2.4	2.3	2.0
Manufacturing	143	177	184	183	178	205	1.2	1.4	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.7
Durable goods	80	96	97	94	94	104	1.0	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.3
Nondurable goods	63	82	88	89	84	101	1.4	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.8	2.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	611	657	672	678	581	671	2.2	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.1	2.5
Wholesale trade	67	103	71	76	72	76	1.1	1.8	1.2	1.3	1.2	1.3
Retail trade	453	469	492	498	420	486	2.9	2.9	3.1	3.1	2.7	3.1
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	91	85	109	105	89	109	1.7	1.5	2.0	1.9	1.6	1.9
Information	38	42	48	43	37	31	1.4	1.5	1.7	1.6	1.4	1.1
Financial activities	112	123	85	105	111	124	1.4	1.5	1.0	1.2	1.3	1.5
Finance and insurance	70	80	57	71	71	77	1.1	1.3	0.9	1.1	1.1	1.2
Real estate and rental and leasing(3)	42	43	28	34	40	47	2.0	2.0	1.3	1.5	1.8	2.2
Professional and business services	605	625	569	618	630	630	3.0	3.1	2.8	3.0	3.1	3.1
Education and health services	405	438	371	426	402	406	1.8	1.9	1.6	1.9	1.7	1.8
Educational services	50	45	41	48	45	45	1.4	1.2	1.1	1.3	1.2	1.2
Health care and social assistance	355	394	330	379	357	361	1.9	2.0	1.7	2.0	1.8	1.9
Leisure and hospitality	696	662	660	649	667	707	4.5	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.2	4.4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	67	70	76	76	77	62	3.0	3.1	3.4	3.4	3.4	2.7
Accommodation and food services	629	593	584	573	590	645	4.7	4.4	4.3	4.2	4.3	4.7
Other services(3)	102	123	97	83	111	119	1.8	2.1	1.7	1.4	1.9	2.1
Government	165	175	171	176	157	176	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.8
Federal	9	15	16	16	14	11	0.3	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.4
State and local	156	161	155	159	143	164	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.8
State and local education	71	75	74	72	75	80	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.8
State and local, excluding education	84	86	81	87	67	84	0.9	0.9	0.9	1.0	0.7	0.9
REGION(4)
Northeast	391	430	426	419	446	470	1.5	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.7	1.7
South	1,205	1,248	1,267	1,308	1,220	1,343	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.5	2.3	2.5
Midwest	724	719	694	695	639	680	2.3	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.0	2.1
West	685	789	649	715	740	728	2.1	2.4	2.0	2.1	2.2	2.2
Footnotes (1) Quits are the number of quits during the entire month. (2) The quits rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a percent of total employment. (3) No regular seasonal movements could be identified in this series; therefore, identical numbers appear for the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted series. (4) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (p) Preliminary

Table 5. Layoffs and discharges levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)

Industry and region	Levels (in thousands)						Rates(2)
	May 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
Total	1,741	1,659	1,594	1,661	1,605	1,661	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1
INDUSTRY
Total private	1,626	1,555	1,483	1,582	1,500	1,566	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.3	1.2	1.3
Mining and logging(3)	11	16	12	8	9	9	1.7	2.4	1.7	1.2	1.3	1.3
Construction	200	177	155	197	207	202	3.0	2.6	2.3	2.9	3.0	2.9
Manufacturing	130	103	73	112	117	103	1.1	0.8	0.6	0.9	0.9	0.8
Durable goods	90	55	43	67	55	56	1.2	0.7	0.6	0.9	0.7	0.7
Nondurable goods	40	48	30	44	63	47	0.9	1.0	0.6	0.9	1.3	1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	312	289	309	303	282	293	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.0	1.1
Wholesale trade(3)	55	39	49	45	33	42	0.9	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.6	0.7
Retail trade	174	155	210	195	183	185	1.1	1.0	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.2
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	83	94	50	63	66	66	1.5	1.7	0.9	1.1	1.2	1.2
Information	30	27	23	28	24	34	1.1	1.0	0.8	1.0	0.9	1.3
Financial activities	50	50	68	70	45	58	0.6	0.6	0.8	0.8	0.5	0.7
Finance and insurance	33	30	46	32	19	26	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.5	0.3	0.4
Real estate and rental and leasing	17	19	22	38	25	32	0.8	0.9	1.0	1.7	1.2	1.5
Professional and business services	399	383	367	325	315	392	2.0	1.9	1.8	1.6	1.5	1.9
Education and health services	168	132	127	161	158	171	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.7
Educational services	44	31	16	36	37	44	1.2	0.9	0.5	1.0	1.0	1.2
Health care and social assistance	124	102	111	126	121	127	0.7	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.7
Leisure and hospitality	253	296	276	278	247	209	1.6	1.9	1.7	1.8	1.6	1.3
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	78	60	61	58	54	68	3.5	2.7	2.7	2.6	2.4	3.0
Accommodation and food services	175	235	215	220	194	141	1.3	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.4	1.0
Other services	73	83	73	100	96	95	1.3	1.4	1.3	1.8	1.7	1.7
Government	114	104	111	79	104	95	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.4
Federal	11	13	10	11	11	9	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.3
State and local	103	91	101	69	94	86	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.4
State and local education	54	51	63	32	42	36	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.3	0.4	0.4
State and local, excluding education	50	39	38	36	52	50	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.6	0.5
REGION(4)
Northeast	326	340	374	327	295	305	1.2	1.3	1.4	1.2	1.1	1.1
South	646	573	566	601	646	698	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.3
Midwest	354	383	294	368	333	343	1.1	1.2	0.9	1.1	1.0	1.1
West	415	362	361	365	331	314	1.3	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.0	0.9
Footnotes (1) Layoffs and discharges are the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month. (2) The layoffs and discharges rate is the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month as a percent of total employment. (3) No regular seasonal movements could be identified in this series; therefore, identical numbers appear for the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted series. (4) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (p) Preliminary

Table 6. Other separations levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)

Industry and region	Levels (in thousands)						Rates(2)
	May 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
Total	355	402	378	399	359	377	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3
INDUSTRY
Total private	295	342	314	338	293	314	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3
Mining and logging	4	3	4	4	3	4	0.7	0.4	0.5	0.6	0.4	0.5
Construction(3)	12	32	22	13	11	13	0.2	0.5	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2
Manufacturing	21	24	24	23	21	19	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2
Durable goods	12	13	16	11	13	11	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.1
Nondurable goods(3)	10	11	8	12	8	8	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	88	66	74	82	84	88	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Wholesale trade	8	7	14	12	11	8	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1
Retail trade	67	46	48	52	60	64	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.4
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities(3)	13	13	12	18	13	16	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3
Information(3)	10	18	8	9	13	13	0.4	0.7	0.3	0.3	0.5	0.5
Financial activities	16	26	29	25	28	34	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.4
Finance and insurance	15	23	24	22	20	31	0.2	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.5
Real estate and rental and leasing(3)	1	3	4	3	8	3	0.0	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.4	0.1
Professional and business services	67	61	62	90	57	68	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.3
Education and health services	32	68	50	48	34	36	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.2
Educational services(3)	7	7	2	7	4	8	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.2
Health care and social assistance(3)	25	61	47	41	30	28	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1
Leisure and hospitality	41	29	32	40	29	33	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2
Arts, entertainment, and recreation(3)	5	5	3	3	3	4	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2
Accommodation and food services(3)	36	24	29	37	26	29	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2
Other services(3)	3	14	10	5	13	5	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.1
Government	60	60	64	60	66	62	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Federal	9	10	9	10	9	6	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.2
State and local	51	49	56	50	57	56	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
State and local education	26	25	31	25	29	26	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2
State and local, excluding education	24	24	24	25	28	31	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
REGION(4)
Northeast	52	70	66	70	67	68	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3
South	144	171	139	148	126	137	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3
Midwest	82	75	69	98	72	81	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2
West	75	87	104	82	94	91	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.3
Footnotes (1) Other separations are the number of other separations during the entire month. (2) The other separations rate is the number of other separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment. (3) No regular seasonal movements could be identified in this series; therefore, identical numbers appear for the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted series. (4) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (p) Preliminary
NOTE: Levels are rounded to the nearest thousand and rates are rounded to the nearest tenth. Levels and rates may round down to zero.

Table 7. Job openings levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)

Industry and region	Levels (in thousands)			Rates(2)
	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
Total	5,591	6,312	5,665	3.7	4.1	3.7
INDUSTRY
Total private	5,050	5,761	5,123	4.0	4.5	4.0
Mining and logging	10	24	12	1.5	3.4	1.7
Construction	187	200	154	2.7	2.9	2.2
Manufacturing	344	365	343	2.7	2.9	2.7
Durable goods	187	207	199	2.4	2.6	2.5
Nondurable goods	157	158	144	3.3	3.3	3.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	940	955	969	3.4	3.4	3.4
Wholesale trade	154	210	192	2.6	3.4	3.1
Retail trade	585	555	632	3.6	3.4	3.9
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	202	190	145	3.5	3.3	2.5
Information	90	109	93	3.2	3.8	3.3
Financial activities	284	439	314	3.3	5.0	3.6
Finance and insurance	228	334	232	3.6	5.1	3.6
Real estate and rental and leasing	56	105	82	2.5	4.6	3.6
Professional and business services	1,214	1,186	1,043	5.7	5.5	4.8
Education and health services	1,032	1,179	1,040	4.4	4.8	4.3
Educational services	94	91	108	2.6	2.3	2.8
Health care and social assistance	938	1,088	931	4.7	5.3	4.6
Leisure and hospitality	781	978	870	4.7	5.8	5.1
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	88	93	73	3.7	4.0	3.0
Accommodation and food services	692	885	797	4.9	6.1	5.5
Other services	168	327	285	2.9	5.4	4.7
Government	541	551	542	2.3	2.4	2.3
Federal	101	93	99	3.5	3.2	3.4
State and local	441	458	443	2.2	2.2	2.2
State and local education	148	160	156	1.4	1.5	1.4
State and local, excluding education	292	298	287	3.1	3.2	3.1
REGION(3)
Northeast	931	1,154	1,044	3.4	4.1	3.7
South	2,033	2,353	2,035	3.7	4.2	3.7
Midwest	1,341	1,479	1,325	4.0	4.4	3.9
West	1,286	1,326	1,261	3.7	3.8	3.6
Footnotes (1) Job openings are the number of job openings on the last business day of the month. (2) The job openings rate is the number of job openings on the last business day of the month as a percent of total employment plus job openings. (3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (p) Preliminary

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

Industry and region	Levels (in thousands)			Rates(2)
	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
Total	5,692	5,344	6,032	3.9	3.7	4.1
INDUSTRY
Total private	5,295	5,088	5,680	4.3	4.1	4.6
Mining and logging	21	35	38	3.2	5.1	5.4
Construction	396	510	480	5.9	7.6	6.9
Manufacturing	298	324	373	2.4	2.6	3.0
Durable goods	179	173	208	2.3	2.2	2.7
Nondurable goods	119	151	166	2.6	3.3	3.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,066	919	1,098	3.9	3.4	4.0
Wholesale trade	143	133	138	2.4	2.3	2.3
Retail trade	759	639	784	4.8	4.1	5.0
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	164	147	176	3.0	2.6	3.2
Information	70	62	75	2.5	2.3	2.8
Financial activities	206	198	251	2.5	2.4	3.0
Finance and insurance	137	117	165	2.2	1.9	2.7
Real estate and rental and leasing	69	81	86	3.2	3.7	3.9
Professional and business services	1,155	1,129	1,181	5.8	5.5	5.7
Education and health services	615	595	642	2.7	2.6	2.8
Educational services	77	62	90	2.1	1.6	2.4
Health care and social assistance	537	533	552	2.8	2.8	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	1,252	1,094	1,209	7.9	6.9	7.5
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	239	209	221	10.4	9.5	9.4
Accommodation and food services	1,013	884	989	7.5	6.5	7.2
Other services	217	223	334	3.8	3.9	5.8
Government	397	256	352	1.8	1.1	1.6
Federal	62	31	37	2.2	1.1	1.3
State and local	335	225	316	1.7	1.1	1.6
State and local education	104	74	86	1.0	0.7	0.8
State and local, excluding education	231	151	229	2.5	1.7	2.5
REGION(3)
Northeast	875	944	1,064	3.3	3.5	3.9
South	2,100	2,051	2,308	4.0	3.9	4.3
Midwest	1,404	1,202	1,412	4.4	3.7	4.3
West	1,313	1,147	1,249	4.0	3.4	3.7
Footnotes (1) Hires are the number of hires during the entire month. (2) The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment. (3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (p) Preliminary

Table 9. Total separations levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)

Industry and region	Levels (in thousands)			Rates(2)
	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
Total	5,052	4,822	5,267	3.5	3.3	3.6
INDUSTRY
Total private	4,647	4,591	4,882	3.8	3.7	3.9
Mining and logging	27	23	27	4.0	3.3	3.9
Construction	302	367	333	4.5	5.4	4.8
Manufacturing	287	312	334	2.3	2.5	2.7
Durable goods	176	163	175	2.3	2.1	2.3
Nondurable goods	110	149	159	2.4	3.2	3.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	968	918	1,020	3.6	3.4	3.7
Wholesale trade	126	122	120	2.1	2.1	2.0
Retail trade	680	640	731	4.3	4.1	4.6
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	163	156	169	2.9	2.8	3.0
Information	75	73	77	2.7	2.7	2.8
Financial activities	172	194	218	2.1	2.3	2.6
Finance and insurance	115	118	139	1.9	1.9	2.2
Real estate and rental and leasing	57	76	79	2.7	3.5	3.6
Professional and business services	1,068	1,035	1,093	5.3	5.0	5.3
Education and health services	633	564	648	2.8	2.4	2.8
Educational services	124	62	127	3.5	1.6	3.4
Health care and social assistance	509	502	521	2.7	2.6	2.7
Leisure and hospitality	939	897	912	5.9	5.7	5.6
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	118	130	106	5.1	5.9	4.5
Accommodation and food services	820	767	806	6.1	5.7	5.8
Other services	176	208	220	3.1	3.6	3.8
Government	405	230	385	1.8	1.0	1.7
Federal	26	33	21	0.9	1.2	0.7
State and local	379	198	364	1.9	1.0	1.8
State and local education	239	81	215	2.2	0.7	2.0
State and local, excluding education	140	117	149	1.5	1.3	1.6
REGION(3)
Northeast	688	752	771	2.6	2.8	2.8
South	2,021	1,964	2,250	3.8	3.7	4.2
Midwest	1,142	971	1,097	3.6	3.0	3.4
West	1,200	1,135	1,149	3.6	3.4	3.4
Footnotes (1) Total separations are the number of total separations during the entire month. (2) The total separations rate is the number of total separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment. (3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (p) Preliminary

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

Industry and region	Levels (in thousands)			Rates(2)
	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
Total	3,027	3,021	3,276	2.1	2.1	2.2
INDUSTRY
Total private	2,837	2,899	3,070	2.3	2.4	2.5
Mining and logging	12	11	15	1.7	1.6	2.2
Construction	127	169	148	1.9	2.5	2.1
Manufacturing	149	184	221	1.2	1.5	1.8
Durable goods	84	100	112	1.1	1.3	1.4
Nondurable goods	65	84	109	1.4	1.8	2.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	600	590	664	2.2	2.2	2.4
Wholesale trade	65	77	73	1.1	1.3	1.2
Retail trade	455	420	494	2.9	2.7	3.1
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	80	93	97	1.4	1.7	1.7
Information	36	37	29	1.3	1.3	1.1
Financial activities	114	116	129	1.4	1.4	1.5
Finance and insurance	72	76	82	1.2	1.2	1.3
Real estate and rental and leasing	42	40	47	2.0	1.9	2.2
Professional and business services	614	639	636	3.1	3.1	3.1
Education and health services	411	393	411	1.8	1.7	1.8
Educational services	55	34	49	1.5	0.9	1.3
Health care and social assistance	356	359	361	1.9	1.9	1.9
Leisure and hospitality	673	649	698	4.3	4.1	4.3
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	64	69	59	2.8	3.1	2.5
Accommodation and food services	609	579	639	4.5	4.3	4.6
Other services	102	111	119	1.8	1.9	2.1
Government	189	122	206	0.8	0.5	0.9
Federal	9	15	11	0.3	0.5	0.4
State and local	180	107	195	0.9	0.5	1.0
State and local education	94	45	106	0.9	0.4	1.0
State and local, excluding education	87	62	89	1.0	0.7	1.0
REGION(3)
Northeast	374	428	459	1.4	1.6	1.7
South	1,215	1,236	1,378	2.3	2.3	2.6
Midwest	738	618	695	2.3	1.9	2.1
West	701	740	744	2.1	2.2	2.2
Footnotes (1) Quits are the number of quits during the entire month. (2) The quits rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a percent of total employment. (3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (p) Preliminary

Table 11. Layoffs and discharges levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)

Industry and region	Levels (in thousands)			Rates(2)
	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
Total	1,664	1,462	1,594	1.2	1.0	1.1
INDUSTRY
Total private	1,519	1,401	1,489	1.2	1.1	1.2
Mining and logging	11	9	9	1.7	1.3	1.3
Construction	163	188	172	2.4	2.8	2.5
Manufacturing	115	105	94	0.9	0.9	0.8
Durable goods	79	49	52	1.0	0.6	0.7
Nondurable goods	36	56	42	0.8	1.2	0.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	273	243	254	1.0	0.9	0.9
Wholesale trade	55	33	42	0.9	0.6	0.7
Retail trade	148	160	157	0.9	1.0	1.0
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	69	50	56	1.3	0.9	1.0
Information	29	24	35	1.0	0.9	1.3
Financial activities	42	47	50	0.5	0.6	0.6
Finance and insurance	28	20	21	0.5	0.3	0.3
Real estate and rental and leasing	14	28	29	0.7	1.3	1.3
Professional and business services	399	344	397	2.0	1.7	1.9
Education and health services	191	137	202	0.8	0.6	0.9
Educational services	63	23	69	1.7	0.6	1.9
Health care and social assistance	128	114	133	0.7	0.6	0.7
Leisure and hospitality	225	220	181	1.4	1.4	1.1
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	50	58	43	2.2	2.6	1.9
Accommodation and food services	175	162	137	1.3	1.2	1.0
Other services	71	84	96	1.2	1.5	1.7
Government	145	60	106	0.6	0.3	0.5
Federal	7	9	5	0.3	0.3	0.2
State and local	137	51	101	0.7	0.3	0.5
State and local education	106	19	69	1.0	0.2	0.6
State and local, excluding education	32	32	32	0.3	0.4	0.4
REGION(3)
Northeast	270	260	249	1.0	1.0	0.9
South	652	618	725	1.2	1.2	1.4
Midwest	318	283	308	1.0	0.9	0.9
West	423	300	312	1.3	0.9	0.9
Footnotes (1) Layoffs and discharges are the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month. (2) The layoffs and discharges rate is the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month as a percent of total employment. (3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (p) Preliminary

Table 12. Other separations levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)

Industry and region	Levels (in thousands)			Rates(2)
	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)	May 2016	Apr. 2017	May 2017(p)
Total	361	339	397	0.3	0.2	0.3
INDUSTRY
Total private	290	291	323	0.2	0.2	0.3
Mining and logging	4	2	3	0.6	0.3	0.5
Construction	12	11	13	0.2	0.2	0.2
Manufacturing	22	22	20	0.2	0.2	0.2
Durable goods	13	14	12	0.2	0.2	0.1
Nondurable goods	10	8	8	0.2	0.2	0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	96	85	101	0.4	0.3	0.4
Wholesale trade	6	12	5	0.1	0.2	0.1
Retail trade	76	60	80	0.5	0.4	0.5
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	13	13	16	0.2	0.2	0.3
Information	10	13	13	0.4	0.5	0.5
Financial activities	17	30	38	0.2	0.4	0.5
Finance and insurance	16	22	36	0.3	0.4	0.6
Real estate and rental and leasing	1	8	3	0.0	0.4	0.1
Professional and business services	54	51	61	0.3	0.3	0.3
Education and health services	32	34	36	0.1	0.1	0.2
Educational services	7	4	8	0.2	0.1	0.2
Health care and social assistance	25	30	28	0.1	0.2	0.1
Leisure and hospitality	41	29	33	0.3	0.2	0.2
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	5	3	4	0.2	0.1	0.2
Accommodation and food services	36	26	29	0.3	0.2	0.2
Other services	3	13	5	0.1	0.2	0.1
Government	71	48	74	0.3	0.2	0.3
Federal	10	9	6	0.4	0.3	0.2
State and local	61	39	68	0.3	0.2	0.3
State and local education	40	16	40	0.4	0.2	0.4
State and local, excluding education	21	23	28	0.2	0.3	0.3
REGION(3)
Northeast	45	64	62	0.2	0.2	0.2
South	155	111	148	0.3	0.2	0.3
Midwest	86	70	93	0.3	0.2	0.3
West	76	94	93	0.2	0.3	0.3
Footnotes (1) Other separations are the number of other separations during the entire month. (2) The other separations rate is the number of other separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment. (3) The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (p) Preliminary
NOTE: Levels are rounded to the nearest thousand and rates are rounded to the nearest tenth. Levels and rates may round down to zero.