Technical information: (202) 691-5870 USDL 09-0633
http://www.bls.gov/jlt/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Tuesday, June 9, 2009
JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER: APRIL 2009
On the last business day of April, job openings in the U.S.
numbered 2.5 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today. The job openings level was at its
lowest point since the series began in December 2000. The hires rate
(3.1 percent) was unchanged in April and remained low. The total
separations rate (3.6 percent) was little changed over the month.
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.
Job Openings
The job openings rate was unchanged in April at 1.9 percent.
Since June 2007, the number of job openings has trended downward by
2.3 million, or 47 percent. In April, small declines in the job
openings rate occurred in most industries; none of these declines were
statistically significant. The job openings rate increased
significantly for government due to an increase in job opportunities
for temporary workers for Census 2010. (See table 1.)
- 2 -
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally
adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Job openings | Hires | Total separations
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Industry | Apr. | Mar. | Apr. | Apr. | Mar. | Apr. | Apr. | Mar. | Apr.
| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p
-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total(1)...........|3,967 |2,633 |2,531 |4,955 |4,099 |4,165 |5,152 |4,712 |4,718
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..|3,547 |2,269 |2,080 |4,635 |3,799 |3,803 |4,825 |4,434 |4,431
Construction.....| 109 | 51 | 30 | 401 | 343 | 348 | 461 | 463 | 441
Manufacturing....| 274 | 115 | 95 | 337 | 244 | 235 | 393 | 401 | 379
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and | | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)....| 630 | 414 | 332 |1,035 | 883 | 897 |1,090 |1,001 |1,008
Retail trade....| 388 | 265 | 219 | 699 | 595 | 655 | 741 | 646 | 691
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services........| 749 | 428 | 458 | 903 | 668 | 743 | 924 | 778 | 851
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices...........| 719 | 537 | 522 | 554 | 483 | 486 | 506 | 466 | 471
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality.....| 520 | 289 | 330 | 868 | 693 | 691 | 884 | 751 | 712
Arts, enter- | | | | | | | | |
tainment and | | | | | | | | |
recreation.....| 57 | 25 | 20 | 112 | 85 | 80 | 122 | 95 | 90
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 470 | 263 | 317 | 750 | 607 | 606 | 763 | 649 | 616
Government(3).....| 413 | 353 | 450 | 319 | 271 | 338 | 300 | 265 | 270
State and local | | | | | | | | |
government......| 383 | 291 | 317 | 292 | 247 | 252 | 277 | 251 | 249
|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total(1)...........| 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.6
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..| 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.0
Construction.....| 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 7.0
Manufacturing....| 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.1
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and | | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)....| 2.3 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.0
Retail trade....| 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 4.7
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services........| 4.0 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 5.1
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices...........| 3.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.5
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality.....| 3.7 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 6.4 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 6.5 | 5.7 | 5.4
Arts, enter- | | | | | | | | |
tainment and | | | | | | | | |
recreation.....| 2.8 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 5.7 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 4.9 | 4.7
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 3.9 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 6.5 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 6.6 | 5.8 | 5.5
Government(3).....| 1.8 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.2
State and local | | | | | | | | |
government......| 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and
other services, not shown separately.
2 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not
shown separately.
3 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
p = preliminary.
Over the 12 months ending in April, the job openings rate (not
seasonally adjusted) fell significantly in almost every industry
except federal government where it rose significantly. The job
openings rate also fell in all four regions. The rate did not change
significantly in finance and insurance. (See table 5.)
- 3 -
Hires
The hires level was little changed at 4.2 million in April.
However, monthly hires experienced an overall downward trend, falling
by 1.5 million, or 26 percent, since July 2006. The hires rate was 3.1
percent in April. Government experienced a significant increase in
the hires rate over the month mainly due to hiring of temporary
workers for Census 2010. The hires rate did not change significantly
in the remaining industries. Regionally, the South experienced a
significant increase in the hires rate. The remaining regions did not
change significantly. (See table 2.)
Over the 12 months ending in April, the hires rate (not
seasonally adjusted) increased significantly in federal government.
The rate decreased significantly over the year for total nonfarm,
total private, and many industries including mining and logging;
durable goods manufacturing; nondurable goods manufacturing; wholesale
trade; finance and insurance; educational services; health care and
social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and
accommodation and food services. Regionally, the hires rate dropped
significantly over the past 12 months in the Midwest and West. The
rate did not change significantly in the Northeast and South. (See
table 6.)
Separations
Total separations includes quits (voluntary separations), layoffs
and discharges (involuntary separations), and other separations
(including retirements). The total separations, or turnover, rate
(seasonally adjusted) was 3.6 percent in April, little changed from
March. The total separations rate (not seasonally adjusted) decreased
significantly over the 12 months ending in April. (See tables 3 and
7.)
The quits rate can serve as a barometer of workers’ willingness
or ability to change jobs. Although the rate was little changed over
the month at 1.3 percent in April, the quits rate was at the lowest
point in the 8-year series. Quits have been trending downward since
December 2006 to a level of 1.8 million, a decline of 1.4 million or
44 percent. Comparing April 2009 to April 2008, the quits rate (not
seasonally adjusted) was significantly lower for total nonfarm, total
private, and government.
Over the 12 months ending in April, the majority of industries
experienced a significant decline in the quits rate with the
exceptions of information; educational services; arts, entertainment,
and recreation; other services; and federal government. The quits
rate did not rise significantly over the past 12 months in any
industry. The quits rate fell significantly over the past 12 months
in all four regions. (See tables 4 and 8.)
The layoffs and discharges component of total separations is
seasonally adjusted at the total nonfarm, total private, and
government levels. Layoffs and discharges in April were 2.6 million
for total nonfarm, 2.4 million for total private, and 142,000 for
government, corresponding to layoffs and discharges rates of 1.9
percent, 2.2 percent, and 0.6 percent, respectively. The layoffs and
discharges rate was unchanged in April at the total nonfarm and total
private levels. The government layoffs and discharges rate increased
significantly.
Over the 12 months ending in April, the layoffs and discharges
rate (not seasonally adjusted) rose significantly for total nonfarm,
total private, government, and many industries including construction;
durable goods manufacturing; retail trade; information; professional
and business services; health care and social assistance; and state
and local government. In the remaining industries, the layoffs and
discharges rate did not change significantly. All four regions
experienced a significant increase in the layoffs and discharges rate
over the 12 months ending in April. (See table 9 for not seasonally
adjusted layoffs and discharges.)
- 4 -
Table B. Layoffs and discharges by industry, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates
|------------------------------------------------
Industry | Apr. | Mar. | Apr. | Apr. | Mar. | Apr.
| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p
-------------------|------------------------------------------------
Total..............| 1,899 | 2,528 | 2,557 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 1.9
Total private.....| 1,792 | 2,399 | 2,409 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 2.2
Government.......| 94 | 118 | 142 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.6
The other separations series is not seasonally adjusted. In
April, there were 379,000 other separations for total nonfarm, 340,000
for total private, and 39,000 for government. Compared to April 2008,
the number of other separations was little changed for total nonfarm,
total private, and government. (See table 10.)
The total separations rate is influenced by the relative
contribution of its three components—quits, layoffs and discharges,
and other separations. The percentage of total separations at the
total nonfarm level attributable to the individual components has
varied over time. The proportion of quits has been trending downward
from 59 percent in January 2008 to a series low of 38 percent in April
2009. The proportion of layoffs and discharges has increased from 33
percent in August 2006 to 54 percent in April 2009. (See tables 3, 4,
and table B above.)
Net Change in Employment
In the 12 months ending in April, hires totaled 53.7 million and
separations totaled 58.4 million, yielding a net employment loss over
the year of 4.7 million. Hires trended downward while total
separations remained relatively level over the year. The two major
components of separations had offsetting movements; quits declined
while layoffs increased.
For More Information
For additional information, please read the Technical Note
attached to this release, visit the JOLTS Web site at
www.bls.gov/jlt/, send e-mail to Joltsinfo@bls.gov, or call (202) 691-
5870.
_________________________________________
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover release for May 2009 is
scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, July 7.
