For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, February 9, 2010 USDL-10-0169
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Job Openings and Labor Turnover – December 2009
There were 2.5 million job openings on the last business day of
December 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The
job openings rate was little changed over the month at 1.9 percent.
The job openings rate has held relatively steady since March 2009. The
hires rate (3.1 percent) and the separations rate (3.2 percent) were
essentially unchanged in December. 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 little changed in December at 1.9 percent.
The rate has been 1.8 percent or 1.9 percent since March 2009. In
December, the job openings rate increased in state and local
government and decreased in the Midwest. (See table 1.)
- 2 -
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally
adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Job openings | Hires | Total separations
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Industry | Dec. | Nov. | Dec. | Dec. | Nov. | Dec. | Dec. | Nov. | Dec.
| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p
-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............|3,224 |2,434 |2,497 |4,508 |4,125 |4,073 |4,958 |4,274 |4,238
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..|2,861 |2,088 |2,151 |4,214 |3,852 |3,816 |4,673 |3,993 |3,944
Construction.....| 66 | 75 | 53 | 366 | 324 | 358 | 452 | 361 | 436
Manufacturing....| 188 | 154 | 175 | 252 | 252 | 237 | 419 | 299 | 298
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and | | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)....| 495 | 329 | 361 | 891 | 839 | 871 |1,041 | 863 | 917
Retail trade....| 337 | 197 | 246 | 595 | 539 | 548 | 664 | 544 | 571
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services........| 562 | 431 | 415 | 786 | 808 | 661 | 898 | 763 | 620
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices...........| 685 | 543 | 550 | 528 | 517 | 524 | 498 | 488 | 510
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality.....| 315 | 229 | 234 | 711 | 703 | 684 | 755 | 752 | 704
Arts, enter- | | | | | | | | |
tainment and | | | | | | | | |
recreation.....| 40 | 24 | 22 | 111 | 119 | 89 | 106 | 117 | 104
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 274 | 207 | 213 | 605 | 590 | 588 | 647 | 622 | 595
Government(3).....| 345 | 341 | 343 | 271 | 278 | 262 | 278 | 280 | 297
State and local | | | | | | | | |
government......| 312 | 258 | 294 | 253 | 248 | 244 | 251 | 240 | 255
|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............| 2.3 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.2
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..| 2.5 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.6
Construction.....| 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 6.1 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 7.4
Manufacturing....| 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.6
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and | | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)....| 1.9 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.7
Retail trade....| 2.2 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.9
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services........| 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.7
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices...........| 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.6
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality.....| 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.4
Arts, enter- | | | | | | | | |
tainment and | | | | | | | | |
recreation.....| 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 6.2 | 5.5
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 5.3
Government(3).....| 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.3
State and local | | | | | | | | |
government......| 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 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 December, the job openings rate (not
seasonally adjusted) decreased for total nonfarm and total private and
was unchanged in government. The job openings rate also decreased over
that period in educational services and health care and social
assistance and in the South and Midwest. (See table 5.)
Hires
The hires rate was unchanged in December, remaining at 3.1 percent for
the fifth consecutive month. The rate hovered between 3.0 percent and
3.2 percent since February 2009. After falling from the most recent
peak of 5.6 million hires in July 2006, the hires level reached a low
point in June 2009 of 3.9 million. In December 2009, the hires level
was 4.1 million. The hires rate decreased in professional and business
services and was essentially unchanged for all four regions. (See
table 2.)
- 3 -
Over the 12 months ending in December, the hires rate (not seasonally
adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and
government. The hires rate increased for transportation, warehousing,
and utilities and was essentially unchanged in all four regions. (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 was little
changed in December and remained low at 3.2 percent. The total
separations rate (not seasonally adjusted) decreased over the 12
months ending in December for total nonfarm and total private while
the rate for government was little changed. (See tables 3 and 7.)
The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or
ability to change jobs. The quits rate decreased for total nonfarm and
total private and was unchanged for government in December. The quits
rate was essentially unchanged in all industries and all four regions.
After falling from the most recent peak of 3.2 million in December
2006, the number of quits has held steady at 1.8 million or 1.9
million since February 2009. (See table 4.)
Over the 12 months ending in December, the quits rate (not seasonally
adjusted) was essentially unchanged for total nonfarm and government
and decreased for total private. The quits rate decreased in retail
trade. The quits rate was essentially unchanged in all four regions.
(See table 8.)
The layoffs and discharges component of total separations is
seasonally adjusted at the total nonfarm, total private, and
government levels. The layoffs and discharges levels for total
nonfarm, total private, and government were little changed in December
at 2.1 million, 2.0 million, and 117,000 respectively. The
corresponding layoffs and discharges rates were 1.6 percent, 1.8
percent, and 0.5 percent. The number of layoffs and discharges at the
total nonfarm level peaked at 2.6 million in January 2009; the most
recent trough was 1.6 million in January 2006. (See table B below.)
The layoffs and discharges rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little
changed over the 12 months ending in December for total nonfarm and
government and decreased for total private. The layoffs and discharges
rate fell in durable goods; wholesale trade; and professional and
business services. The rate rose in transportation, warehousing, and
utilities as well as federal government. The layoffs and discharges
rate remained essentially unchanged in all four regions. (See table
9.)
Table B. Layoffs and discharges by industry, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates
|------------------------------------------------
Industry | Dec. | Nov. | Dec. | Dec. | Nov. | Dec.
| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p
-------------------|------------------------------------------------
Total..............| 2,360 | 2,011 | 2,079 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.6
Total private.....| 2,241 | 1,895 | 1,953 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.8
Government....... | 98 | 112 | 117 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
The other separations series is not seasonally adjusted. In December,
there were 289,000 other separations for total nonfarm, 236,000 for
total private, and 53,000 for government. Compared to
- 4 -
December 2008, the number of other separations was little changed for
total nonfarm and total private, and rose for government. (See table 10.)
The total separations level 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 had exceeded the proportion of layoffs and
discharges every month from the beginning of the series from December
2000 until November 2008 when layoffs and discharges became the larger
contributor to total separations. The proportion of separations due to
quits fell to a series low of 38 percent in April 2009 and is now 42
percent in December 2009. The proportion of separations due to layoffs
and discharges rose to a series high of 55 percent in July 2009 and is
now 49 percent in December 2009. (See tables 3 and 4, and table B
above.)
Net Change in Employment
Over the 12 months ending in December, hires totaled 49.4 million and
separations totaled 53.6 million, yielding a net employment loss of
4.2 million.
____________
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for January 2010
are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.
(EST).
________________________________________________________________________
| Revisions to the JOLTS Data |
| |
| With the release of January data on March 9, 2010, BLS will |
|revise the job openings, hires, and separations data to incorporate |
|the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment |
|estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors. Unadjusted data |
|from April 2008 forward and seasonally adjusted data from December |
|2000 forward are subject to revision. |
|______________________________________________________________________|
