Technical information: (202) 691-5870 USDL 08-0669
http://www.bls.gov/jlt/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, May 15, 2008
JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER: MARCH 2008
On the last business day of March, there were 3.7 million job openings in
the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.6 percent, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The job
openings, hires, and total separations rates were essentially unchanged in
March. 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.
Although the month-to-month changes in job openings, hires, and turnover
data are often small, the trends over time are notable. The job openings rate
remained essentially flat from August 2006 through September 2007 then began
trending downward; the rate in March was at the lowest point since mid-2005.
The hires rate has had an overall downward trend since July 2006, and has
reached the lowest level since early 2004. The separations rate has had an
overall downward trend since November 2006. (See tables 1, 2, and 3.)
Job Openings
In March, the job openings rate was essentially unchanged at 2.6 percent.
Job openings include only those jobs open on the last business day of the month.
Over the month, the job openings rate did not rise or fall significantly in any
industry or region. Since the series began in December 2000, three industries
have consistently had higher job openings rates than the other industries: edu-
cation and health services (3.7 percent in March), accommodation and food ser-
vices (3.8 percent), and professional and business services (3.9 percent). (See
table 1.)
Over the year, the job openings rate (not seasonally adjusted) rose signifi-
cantly only for federal government. The rate fell over the year for total nonfarm
(to 2.7 percent) and total private (2.9 percent) as well as in several industries,
including construction (1.4 percent); durable goods manufacturing (1.8 percent);
wholesale trade (2.2 percent); transportation, warehousing, and utilities (1.9 per-
cent); information (1.7 percent); and finance and insurance (2.7 percent). Two in-
dustries--wholesale trade and information--have experienced exceptionally steep de-
clines in the job openings rate over the past year. The job openings rate for whole-
sale trade fell from 3.8 percent in March 2007 to 2.2 percent in March 2008; the rate
for information fell from 4.5 percent in March 2007 to 1.7 percent in March 2008.
Regionally, the job openings rate fell over the year in the Northeast (2.3 percent)
and in the South (2.8 percent). (See table 5.)
Hires
The hires rate was unchanged at 3.3 percent in March. Hires are any additions
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 sea-
sonally adjusted hires rate was highest in March in accommodation and food ser-
vices (5.7 percent) and lowest in state and local government (1.6 percent). (See
table 2.)
- 2 -
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally
adjusted
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Job openings | Hires | Total separations
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Industry | Mar. | Feb. | Mar. | Mar. | Feb. | Mar. | Mar. | Feb. | Mar.
| 2007 | 2008 | 2008p| 2007 | 2008 | 2008p| 2007 | 2008 | 2008p
---------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total (1)............|4,201 |3,799 |3,733 |4,828 |4,586 |4,547 |4,663 |4,503 |4,378
| | | | | | | | |
Total private (1)..|3,736 |3,350 |3,293 |4,438 |4,203 |4,159 |4,339 |4,224 |4,103
Construction.....| 152 | 123 | 94 | 358 | 349 | 362 | 336 | 329 | 349
Manufacturing....| 313 | 239 | 252 | 325 | 285 | 313 | 401 | 350 | 310
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and | | | | | | | | |
utilities (2)...| 738 | 598 | 566 |1,000 | 882 | 905 | 995 | 957 | 932
Retail trade....| 384 | 326 | 344 | 695 | 603 | 617 | 678 | 669 | 681
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services........| 722 | 699 | 722 | 873 | 780 | 856 | 802 | 861 | 797
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices...........| 692 | 737 | 715 | 504 | 522 | 498 | 427 | 459 | 459
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality (3).| 540 | 530 | 520 | 841 | 868 | 802 | 826 | 854 | 774
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 465 | 477 | 465 | 703 | 730 | 663 | 691 | 718 | 648
Government (4).....| 460 | 450 | 441 | 389 | 387 | 385 | 315 | 278 | 271
State and local | | | | | | | | |
government......| 425 | 413 | 393 | 309 | 306 | 317 | 250 | 229 | 226
|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total (1)............| 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.2
| | | | | | | | |
Total private (1)..| 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.6
Construction.....| 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.8
Manufacturing....| 2.2 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.3
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and | | | | | | | | |
utilities (2)...| 2.7 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.5
Retail trade....| 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.4
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services........| 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.4
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices...........| 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.5
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality (3).| 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 5.7
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 6.2 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 5.6
Government(4)......| 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.2
State and local | | | | | | | | |
government......| 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
- 3 -
From March 2007 to March 2008, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) did not
increase significantly in any industry or region. Over the year, the hires rate did
fall significantly for total nonfarm (to 3.2 percent) and total private (3.6 percent)
as well as in the information industry (1.4 percent), in the South region (3.3 per-
cent), and in the Midwest region (3.0 percent). (See table 6.) The downward trend
in the hires rate since 2006 was steepest in construction; transportation, warehousing,
and utilities; information; and professional and business services.
Separations
The total separations, or turnover, rate was essentially unchanged at 3.2 percent
in March. Separations are terminations of employment that occur at any time during
the month. Over the month, the separations rate did not change significantly in any
industry or region. As with hires, the seasonally adjusted separations rate was, as
usual, highest in March in accommodation and food services (5.6 percent) and lowest
in state and local government (1.1 percent). From March 2007 to March 2008, the total
separations rate did not rise in any industry or region; the rate fell for total non-
farm (to 2.8 percent); durable goods manufacturing (2.2 percent); nondurable goods man-
ufacturing (2.3 percent); wholesale trade (2.0 percent); federal government (1.4 per-
cent); and in the Midwest (2.4 percent) and South (3.0 percent) regions. (See tables 3
and 7.)
Total separations include quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (in-
voluntary separations), and other separations (including retirements). The quits rate,
which can serve as a barometer of workers’ ability to change jobs, was little changed
in March for total nonfarm (1.7 percent). The quits rate fell over the month in manu-
facturing (to 1.2 percent); professional and business services (2.1 percent); state and
local government (0.5 percent); and in the Northeast region (1.3 percent). As has occur-
red every month since the series began in December 2000, the seasonally adjusted quits
rate was highest in the accommodation and food services industry (4.2 percent) and low-
est in state and local government (0.5 percent). (See table 4.)
From March 2007 to March 2008, the quits rate (not seasonally adjusted) did not
increase significantly in any industry. The quits rate fell over the year for total
nonfarm (to 1.6 percent) and total private (1.8 percent), as well as in many industries,
including durable goods manufacturing (1.1 percent); nondurable goods manufacturing
(1.3 percent); wholesale trade (1.0 percent); information (1.0 percent); professional
and business services (2.1 percent); and state and local government (0.4 percent).
Geographically, the quits rate fell over the year in the Midwest (1.3 percent) and
South (1.9 percent). (See table 8.)
The other two components of total separations--layoffs and discharges, and other
separations--are not seasonally adjusted. For March, the layoffs and discharges rate
(1.0 percent) and level (1.4 million) were unchanged from a year earlier. The layoffs
and discharges rate in March 2008 was highest in arts, entertainment, and recreation
(2.9 percent) and lowest in state and local government (0.2 percent). The other se-
parations rate (0.2 percent) and level (310,000) were essentially unchanged in March
from a year earlier. The highest other separations rate in March was for federal gov-
ernment (0.6 percent). The other separations rate for most of the other industries
range from 0.1 to 0.3 each month. (See tables 9 and 10.)
The total separations rate is driven by the relative contribution of its three com-
ponents (quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations), with quits contributing
the largest portion. The percentage of total separations attributable to quits has risen
and fallen over time along with total nonfarm employment levels. The proportion of total
separations due to quits rose from a post-recession low of 50 percent in December 2003 to
a high of 61 percent in December 2006 (seasonally adjusted) before trending downward again.
In March 2008, quits accounted for 54 percent of total separations. The proportion of se-
parations attributable to quits varies widely by industry with the highest proportion
regularly occurring in the accommodation and food services industry (76 percent in March)
and the lowest proportion regularly occurring in the construction industry (30 percent in
March). (See tables 3 and 4.)
- 4 -
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, entertain-
ment, and recreation; and accommodation and food services. In the 12 months ending in
March 2008, these 5 industries produced 32.9 million hires and 31.8 million separations.
Thus, these five industries accounted for 58 percent of total nonfarm hires and 59 percent
of total nonfarm separations while comprising only 40 percent of total nonfarm employment.
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 April 2008 is scheduled to be issued
on Tuesday, June 10.
Back to Top
