For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, January 10, 2012 USDL-12-0027
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 – November 2011
There were 3.2 million job openings on the last business day of
November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The
hires rate (3.2 percent) and separations rate (3.0 percent) were
little changed over the month. The job openings rate has trended
upward since the end of the recession in June 2009. (Recession dates
are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research.) This
release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings,
hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry and by
geographic region.
Job Openings
The number of job openings in November was 3.2 million, unchanged from
October. (See table 1.) Although the number of job openings remained
below the 4.4 million openings when the recession began in December
2007, the level in November was 1.0 million higher than in July 2009
(the most recent trough for the series). The number of job openings
has increased 30 percent since the end of the recession in June 2009.
The number of job openings in November (not seasonally adjusted) was
little changed over the year for total nonfarm, total private, and
government. Several industries saw increases in the number of job
openings over the year, while the number of job openings decreased for
finance and insurance, professional and business services, and federal
government. The Midwest and South regions had increases in the number
of job openings and the West experienced a decline over the year. (See
table 5.)
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally
adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Job openings | Hires | Total separations
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Industry | Nov. | Oct. | Nov. | Nov. | Oct. | Nov. | Nov. | Oct. | Nov.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2011p| 2010 | 2011 | 2011p| 2010 | 2011 | 2011p
-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............|2,966 |3,224 |3,161 |3,943 |4,042 |4,149 |3,869 |3,898 |3,995
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..|2,639 |2,864 |2,819 |3,668 |3,785 |3,865 |3,568 |3,617 |3,696
Construction.....| 94 | 84 | 87 | 324 | 339 | 309 | 342 | 328 | 318
Manufacturing....| 213 | 232 | 227 | 272 | 235 | 237 | 265 | 216 | 220
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and | | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)....| 430 | 552 | 556 | 799 | 816 | 813 | 773 | 767 | 728
Retail trade....| 248 | 306 | 304 | 548 | 550 | 572 | 541 | 517 | 508
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services........| 647 | 576 | 517 | 761 | 846 | 841 | 687 | 817 | 806
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices...........| 528 | 593 | 606 | 491 | 471 | 469 | 460 | 440 | 453
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality.....| 253 | 374 | 406 | 590 | 666 | 734 | 595 | 634 | 708
Arts, enter- | | | | | | | | |
tainment and | | | | | | | | |
recreation.....| 30 | 47 | 55 | 94 | 121 | 147 | 99 | 105 | 143
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 224 | 328 | 351 | 496 | 545 | 587 | 497 | 529 | 564
Government(3).....| 327 | 360 | 342 | 275 | 257 | 284 | 300 | 281 | 299
State and local | | | | | | | | |
government......| 244 | 293 | 295 | 243 | 228 | 253 | 263 | 250 | 263
|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............| 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..| 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.4
Construction.....| 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 5.6 | 6.2 | 5.9 | 5.8
Manufacturing....| 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 1.9
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and | | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)....| 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.9
Retail trade....| 1.7 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.5
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services........| 3.7 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.6
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices...........| 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.2
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality.....| 1.9 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 5.3
Arts, enter- | | | | | | | | |
tainment and | | | | | | | | |
recreation.....| 1.5 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 5.0 | 6.4 | 7.7 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 7.5
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 2.0 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.9
Government(3).....| 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.4
State and local | | | | | | | | |
government......| 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
Hires
In November, the hires rate was little changed at 3.2 percent for
total nonfarm. The hires rate was essentially unchanged over the month
in all industries and regions. (See table 2.) The number of hires in
November was 4.1 million, up from 3.6 million in October 2009 (the
most recent trough) but below the 5.0 million hires recorded when the
recession began in December 2007. The number of hires has increased by
15 percent since the end of the recession in June 2009.
Over the past 12 months, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) was
little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The
hires rate increased over the year in arts, entertainment, and
recreation and was essentially unchanged in every other industry. The
hires rate was essentially unchanged in all four regions. (See table
6.)
Separations
The total separations figure includes voluntary quits, involuntary
layoffs and discharges, and other separations, including retirements.
Total separations is also referred to as turnover.
The seasonally adjusted total separations rate was little changed in
November for total nonfarm, total private, and government. (See table
3.) Over the year, the total separations rate (not seasonally
adjusted) also was little changed for total nonfarm, total private,
and government. (See table 7.)
The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or
ability to change jobs. In November, the quits rate was little changed
for total nonfarm, total private, and government. (See table 4.) The
number of quits rose from 1.5 million in January 2010 (the most recent
trough) to 2.0 million in November, although it remained below the 2.8
million recorded when the recession began in December 2007.
The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) in November 2011 rose
for total nonfarm over the year, but was little changed for total
private and government. No industries or regions experienced a
significant change in the number of quits over the year. (See table
8.)
The layoffs and discharges component of total separations is
seasonally adjusted only at the total nonfarm, total private, and
government levels. The layoffs and discharges rate was essentially
unchanged in November 2011 for total nonfarm, total private, and
government. The number of layoffs and discharges for total nonfarm was
1.7 million in November, down from a peak of 2.5 million in February
2009. For the 16 months ending in November 2011, the number of layoffs
and discharges has been at or below 1.8 million—the level at the start
of the recession. (See table B.)
The layoffs and discharges level (not seasonally adjusted) for total
nonfarm and total private was little changed over the 12 months ending
in November 2011, while the number of layoffs and discharges for
government declined. Over the year, the number of layoffs and
discharges declined for nondurable goods manufacturing, federal
government, and state and local government. The number of layoffs and
discharges increased in arts, entertainment, and recreation over the
year. All four regions experienced little change in the number of
layoffs and discharges. (See table 9.)
Table B. Layoffs and discharges by industry, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
|------------------------------------------------
Industry | Nov. | Oct. | Nov. | Nov. | Oct. | Nov.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2011p| 2010 | 2011 | 2011p
-------------------|------------------------------------------------
Total..............| 1,739 | 1,595 | 1,691 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.3
Total private.....| 1,601 | 1,497 | 1,582 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4
Government........| 138 | 98 | 110 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------
p = Preliminary
The other separations series is not seasonally adjusted. In November
2011, there were 270,000 other separations for total nonfarm, 225,000
for total private, and 45,000 for government. Compared to November
2010, the number of other separations was little changed for total
nonfarm, total private, and government. (See table 10.)
Relative Contributions to Separations
The total separations level is influenced by the relative contribution
of its three components—quits, layoffs and discharges, and other
separations. Other separations is historically a very small portion of
total separations; it has rarely been above 10 percent of total
separations. The percentage of total separations attributable to the
individual components has varied over time at the total nonfarm level,
but for the majority of the months since the series began in December
2000, the proportion of quits has exceeded the proportion of layoffs
and discharges. For most of the months between November 2008 and
November 2010, however, the proportion of layoffs and discharges was
equal to or greater than the proportion of quits. Since November 2010,
the series have returned to their historical pattern. In November
2011, the proportion of quits for total nonfarm was 49 percent, and
the proportion of layoffs and discharges was 42 percent. (See table
C.)
Table C. Quits and layoffs and discharges as a percentage of total separations, seasonally adjusted
(Levels in thousands)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Quits | Layoffs and discharges
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Nov. | Oct. | Nov. | Nov. | Oct. | Nov.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2011p | 2010 | 2011 | 2011p
Industry | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |Portion | |Portion | |Portion | |Portion | |Portion | |Portion
| Level |of total| Level |of total| Level |of total| Level |of total| Level |of total| Level |of total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............| 1,756 | 45% | 1,923 | 49% | 1,964 | 49% | 1,739 | 45% | 1,595 | 41% | 1,691 | 42%
Total private.....| 1,653 | 46% | 1,808 | 50% | 1,841 | 50% | 1,601 | 45% | 1,497 | 41% | 1,582 | 43%
Government........| 102 | 34% | 114 | 41% | 123 | 41% | 138 | 46% | 98 | 35% | 110 | 37%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
p = Preliminary
Net Change in Employment
Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout
the business cycle. Over the 12 months ending in November 2011, hires
totaled 48.6 million and separations totaled 47.2 million, yielding a
net employment gain of 1.4 million. These figures include workers who
may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.
____________
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for December 2011
are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 10:00
a.m. (EST).
