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Economic News Release
PRINT:Print
JOLTS JLT Program Links

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, February 9, 2016	USDL-16-0271

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 – DECEMBER 2015

The number of job openings increased to 5.6 million on the last business day of December, the U.S. 
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires and separations were little changed at 5.4 million and 
5.1 million, respectively. Within separations, the quits rate was 2.1 percent, and the layoffs and 
discharges rate was 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

Job openings rose to 5.6 million in December. The job openings rate was 3.8 percent. The number of 
job openings increased in December for total private and was little changed for government. Job 
openings increased in construction (+69,000), nondurable goods manufacturing (+60,000), and durable 
goods manufacturing (+26,000). In the regions, job openings increased in the West over the month. (See 
table 1.)

The number of job openings (not seasonally adjusted) increased over the 12 months ending in 
December for total nonfarm and total private, and edged up for government. Job openings rose in several 
industries over the year with the largest changes in health care and social assistance (+172,000) and 
finance and insurance (+99,000). The number of job openings increased over the year in the Northeast, 
Midwest, and West regions. (See table 7.)

Hires

The number of hires was 5.4 million in December, little changed from November. The number of hires 
is now higher than in December 2007 (5.0 million), the first month of the recession. The hires rate was 
3.7 percent in December 2015. The number of hires was little changed for total private and government 
in December. The number of hires edged up in professional and business services and was little changed 
in all other industries and in the regions. (See table 2.)

Over the 12 months ending in December, the number of hires (not seasonally adjusted) was little 
changed for total nonfarm and total private and edged up for government. At the industry level, hires 
increased in accommodation and food services (+93,000); transportation, warehousing, and utilities 
(+43,000); and federal government (+11,000). Hires edged down in construction. The number of hires 
was little changed in all four regions over the year. (See table 8.)

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, and disability, as well as transfers to other locations of the same firm.

There were 5.1 million total separations in December, little changed from November. The total 
separations rate was 3.5 percent. The number of total separations was little changed for total private and 
government. In December, total separations edged up in accommodation and food services and in state 
and local government. The number of total separations was little changed in all four regions. (See table 
3.)

There were 3.1 million quits in December, up from November. The number of quits is now higher than 
in December 2007 (2.8 million), the first month of the recession. The quits rate was 2.1 percent in 
December 2015. The number of quits rose for total private and government over the month. Quits rose 
in state and local government (+20,000) but fell in nondurable goods manufacturing (-25,000). Quits 
increased in the South region over the month. (See table 4.)

The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) increased over the 12 months ending in December for 
total nonfarm, total private, and government. Quits increased over the year in several industries with the 
largest changes occurring in professional and business services (+102,000), accommodation and food 
services (+68,000), and retail trade (+58,000). In the regions, quits rose in the South and Midwest. (See 
table 10.)

There were 1.6 million layoffs and discharges in December, little changed from November. The layoffs 
and discharges rate was 1.1 percent. The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed over the 
month for total private and unchanged for government. Layoffs and discharges was little changed in all 
four regions. (See table 5.) Seasonally adjusted estimates of layoffs and discharges are not available for 
individual industries.

The number of layoffs and discharges (not seasonally adjusted) decreased over the 12 months ending in 
December for total nonfarm and total private and edged up for government. The number of layoffs and 
discharges rose in mining and logging (+7,000) and fell in construction (-129,000) and retail trade 
(-64,000). The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed in all four regions over the year. (See 
table 11.)

In December, there were 411,000 other separations for total nonfarm, little changed from November. 
Over the month, the number of other separations was little changed for total private at 343,000 and for 
government at 68,000. (See table 6.) Seasonally adjusted estimates of other separations are not available 
for individual industries or regions.

Over the 12 months ending in December, the number of other separations (not seasonally adjusted) fell 
for total nonfarm and total private and was little changed for government. Other separations increased 
over the year in federal government (+7,000). Other separations decreased in the South region over the 
year. (See table 12.)

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 December 2015, hires totaled 61.4 
million and separations totaled 58.8 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.6 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 January 2016 are scheduled to be 
released on Thursday, March 17, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).

____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|                                  Revisions to the JOLTS Data                                     |
|                                                                                                  |
|With the release of January 2016 data on March 17, the 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 and seasonally    |
|adjusted data from December 2000 forward are subject to revision. Also effective with the release |
|of January data, all data series will be available on a seasonally adjusted basis.                |
|__________________________________________________________________________________________________|

Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally adjusted
Category Job openings Hires Total separations
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

LEVELS BY INDUSTRY
(in thousands)

Total nonfarm

4,877 5,346 5,607 5,239 5,256 5,361 4,901 4,962 5,072

Total private(1)

4,396 4,841 5,086 4,920 4,905 4,993 4,593 4,627 4,716

Construction

140 138 207 438 346 314 393 295 292

Manufacturing

310 279 365 276 273 272 253 274 270

Durable goods

195 167 193 164 153 160 146 155 169

Nondurable goods

115 112 172 112 121 113 108 119 101

Trade, transportation, and utilities(2)

831 868 917 1,118 1,111 1,104 1,079 1,050 1,084

Retail trade

516 508 564 787 772 770 767 751 754

Professional and business services

967 1,086 1,039 1,040 1,010 1,114 942 1,007 1,025

Education and health services(3)

923 1,121 1,112 602 650 628 541 602 561

Health care and social assistance

837 1,027 1,016 528 549 545 470 505 488

Leisure and hospitality

651 741 711 930 1,015 1,053 881 918 993

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

65 69 76 137 132 151 131 124 139

Accommodation and food services

586 672 635 793 883 902 750 795 854

Government(4)

482 505 521 319 351 367 308 334 356

State and local

409 426 437 289 307 322 280 292 316

RATES BY INDUSTRY
(percent)

Total nonfarm

3.4 3.6 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.5 3.5 3.5

Total private(1)

3.6 3.8 4.0 4.1 4.1 4.1 3.9 3.8 3.9

Construction

2.2 2.1 3.1 7.0 5.3 4.8 6.3 4.5 4.5

Manufacturing

2.5 2.2 2.9 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.2

Durable goods

2.4 2.1 2.4 2.1 2.0 2.1 1.9 2.0 2.2

Nondurable goods

2.5 2.4 3.6 2.5 2.7 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities(2)

3.0 3.1 3.3 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.0 3.9 4.0

Retail trade

3.2 3.1 3.5 5.1 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.8

Professional and business services

4.7 5.2 4.9 5.3 5.1 5.6 4.8 5.0 5.1

Education and health services(3)

4.1 4.8 4.7 2.8 2.9 2.8 2.5 2.7 2.5

Health care and social assistance

4.4 5.2 5.1 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.6 2.7 2.6

Leisure and hospitality

4.2 4.6 4.4 6.2 6.6 6.9 5.9 6.0 6.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

3.0 3.0 3.4 6.4 6.0 6.9 6.1 5.6 6.3

Accommodation and food services

4.4 4.9 4.6 6.2 6.7 6.8 5.9 6.0 6.5

Government(4)

2.2 2.2 2.3 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.4 1.5 1.6

State and local

2.1 2.2 2.2 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.6

Footnotes
(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 educational services, not shown separately.
(4) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(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)(2) Rates(3)
Dec.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sept.
2015
Oct.
2015
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sept.
2015
Oct.
2015
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

4,877 5,377 5,534 5,349 5,346 5,607 3.4 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.8

INDUSTRY

Total private(4)

4,396 4,880 5,041 4,859 4,841 5,086 3.6 3.9 4.0 3.9 3.8 4.0

Construction

140 136 119 121 138 207 2.2 2.1 1.8 1.8 2.1 3.1

Manufacturing

310 333 315 310 279 365 2.5 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.2 2.9

Durable goods

195 215 199 183 167 193 2.4 2.7 2.5 2.3 2.1 2.4

Nondurable goods

115 117 116 127 112 172 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.7 2.4 3.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)

831 973 1,019 990 868 917 3.0 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.1 3.3

Retail trade

516 607 654 596 508 564 3.2 3.7 4.0 3.6 3.1 3.5

Professional and business services

967 1,039 1,204 1,042 1,086 1,039 4.7 5.0 5.7 5.0 5.2 4.9

Education and health services(6)

923 996 1,077 1,052 1,121 1,112 4.1 4.3 4.6 4.5 4.8 4.7

Health care and social assistance

837 905 988 952 1,027 1,016 4.4 4.6 5.0 4.8 5.2 5.1

Leisure and hospitality

651 735 696 728 741 711 4.2 4.6 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.4

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

65 46 53 53 69 76 3.0 2.1 2.4 2.4 3.0 3.4

Accommodation and food services

586 689 643 675 672 635 4.4 5.0 4.7 4.9 4.9 4.6

Government(7)

482 497 493 490 505 521 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.3

State and local

409 425 429 424 426 437 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2

REGION(8)

Northeast

817 837 890 893 946 972 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.4 3.5

South

1,902 2,103 2,129 2,039 2,141 2,086 3.6 3.9 4.0 3.8 4.0 3.9

Midwest

1,086 1,213 1,246 1,265 1,157 1,215 3.3 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.5 3.6

West

1,072 1,223 1,269 1,152 1,101 1,335 3.3 3.7 3.8 3.5 3.3 4.0

Footnotes
(1) Job openings are the number of job openings on the last business day of the month.
(2) Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
(3) 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.
(4) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(5) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(6) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(7) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(8) 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)(2) Rates(3)
Dec.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sept.
2015
Oct.
2015
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sept.
2015
Oct.
2015
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

5,239 5,081 5,080 5,168 5,256 5,361 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.7

INDUSTRY

Total private(4)

4,920 4,737 4,750 4,821 4,905 4,993 4.1 3.9 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.1

Construction

438 332 317 319 346 314 7.0 5.2 4.9 4.9 5.3 4.8

Manufacturing

276 267 282 265 273 272 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.2

Durable goods

164 166 176 150 153 160 2.1 2.1 2.3 1.9 2.0 2.1

Nondurable goods

112 102 106 115 121 113 2.5 2.2 2.3 2.5 2.7 2.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)

1,118 1,081 1,059 1,065 1,111 1,104 4.2 4.0 3.9 3.9 4.1 4.1

Retail trade

787 759 734 749 772 770 5.1 4.8 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.9

Professional and business services

1,040 986 1,036 1,050 1,010 1,114 5.3 5.0 5.2 5.3 5.1 5.6

Education and health services(6)

602 589 603 631 650 628 2.8 2.7 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.8

Health care and social assistance

528 511 525 549 549 545 2.9 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.9 2.9

Leisure and hospitality

930 998 951 980 1,015 1,053 6.2 6.6 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

137 138 131 156 132 151 6.4 6.4 6.0 7.1 6.0 6.9

Accommodation and food services

793 860 820 825 883 902 6.2 6.6 6.3 6.3 6.7 6.8

Government(7)

319 344 330 348 351 367 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7

State and local

289 308 297 308 307 322 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7

REGION(8)

Northeast

819 847 807 840 865 845 3.1 3.2 3.0 3.2 3.2 3.2

South

2,072 2,016 2,047 1,966 1,980 2,040 4.1 3.9 4.0 3.8 3.8 3.9

Midwest

1,170 1,082 1,120 1,172 1,200 1,268 3.7 3.4 3.5 3.7 3.7 3.9

West

1,177 1,137 1,107 1,191 1,211 1,208 3.7 3.5 3.4 3.7 3.8 3.7

Footnotes
(1) Hires are the number of hires during the entire month.
(2) Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
(3) The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(4) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(5) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(6) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(7) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(8) 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)(2) Rates(3)
Dec.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sept.
2015
Oct.
2015
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sept.
2015
Oct.
2015
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

4,901 4,886 4,886 4,901 4,962 5,072 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.5

INDUSTRY

Total private(4)

4,593 4,566 4,569 4,537 4,627 4,716 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.9

Construction

393 310 311 273 295 292 6.3 4.9 4.9 4.2 4.5 4.5

Manufacturing

253 276 275 267 274 270 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2

Durable goods

146 172 170 150 155 169 1.9 2.2 2.2 1.9 2.0 2.2

Nondurable goods

108 104 105 118 119 101 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.6 2.6 2.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)

1,079 1,054 1,033 990 1,050 1,084 4.0 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.9 4.0

Retail trade

767 761 734 705 751 754 4.9 4.8 4.7 4.5 4.8 4.8

Professional and business services

942 928 971 1,005 1,007 1,025 4.8 4.7 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.1

Education and health services(6)

541 540 537 585 602 561 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.5

Health care and social assistance

470 456 463 497 505 488 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.6

Leisure and hospitality

881 967 937 921 918 993 5.9 6.4 6.1 6.0 6.0 6.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

131 144 132 146 124 139 6.1 6.7 6.0 6.7 5.6 6.3

Accommodation and food services

750 823 805 775 795 854 5.9 6.3 6.2 5.9 6.0 6.5

Government(7)

308 319 317 364 334 356 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.7 1.5 1.6

State and local

280 285 283 323 292 316 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.7 1.5 1.6

REGION(8)

Northeast

844 814 792 737 809 833 3.2 3.1 3.0 2.8 3.0 3.1

South

1,989 1,918 1,938 1,965 1,936 2,018 3.9 3.7 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.9

Midwest

976 1,075 1,060 1,100 1,119 1,118 3.1 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.5

West

1,092 1,078 1,095 1,099 1,098 1,102 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4

Footnotes
(1) Total separations are the number of total separations during the entire month.
(2) Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
(3) The total separations rate is the number of total separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(4) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(5) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(6) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(7) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(8) 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)(2) Rates(3)
Dec.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sept.
2015
Oct.
2015
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sept.
2015
Oct.
2015
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

2,715 2,771 2,727 2,784 2,859 3,055 1.9 1.9 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.1

INDUSTRY

Total private(4)

2,572 2,618 2,582 2,620 2,710 2,886 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.4

Construction

144 106 121 85 132 145 2.3 1.7 1.9 1.3 2.0 2.2

Manufacturing

135 143 148 145 146 129 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.0

Durable goods

77 80 89 75 72 80 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.0 0.9 1.0

Nondurable goods

58 63 58 71 74 49 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.6 1.6 1.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)

650 609 620 626 630 706 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.6

Retail trade

459 450 450 461 481 514 3.0 2.9 2.9 2.9 3.0 3.3

Professional and business services

444 516 487 519 510 548 2.3 2.6 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.7

Education and health services(6)

336 363 343 372 397 388 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.8 1.7

Health care and social assistance

297 321 305 332 346 339 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.8

Leisure and hospitality

588 638 613 597 636 666 3.9 4.2 4.0 3.9 4.1 4.3

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

49 68 55 54 49 57 2.3 3.2 2.5 2.5 2.3 2.6

Accommodation and food services

540 569 557 543 587 609 4.2 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.5 4.6

Government(7)

144 153 144 164 149 169 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8

State and local

133 141 132 151 136 156 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.8

REGION(8)

Northeast

422 397 392 374 414 424 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.6

South

1,169 1,198 1,126 1,140 1,131 1,276 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.5

Midwest

528 593 618 643 686 700 1.7 1.9 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2

West

596 584 590 627 629 655 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.9 2.0

Footnotes
(1) Quits are the number of quits during the entire month.
(2) Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
(3) The quits rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(4) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(5) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(6) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(7) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(8) 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)(2) Rates(3)
Dec.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sept.
2015
Oct.
2015
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sept.
2015
Oct.
2015
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

1,725 1,725 1,786 1,703 1,686 1,607 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.1

INDUSTRY

Total private(4)

1,623 1,616 1,686 1,580 1,567 1,487 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.2

Construction

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Manufacturing

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Durable goods

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Nondurable goods

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Retail trade

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Professional and business services

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Education and health services(6)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Health care and social assistance

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Leisure and hospitality

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Accommodation and food services

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Government(7)

102 109 100 123 119 119 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.5

State and local

- - - - - - - - - - - -

REGION(8)

Northeast

355 353 326 286 323 324 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.2

South

617 569 660 648 625 593 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.1

Midwest

358 404 380 375 346 337 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.0

West

394 399 421 394 391 352 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.1

Footnotes
(1) Layoffs and discharges are the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month.
(2) Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
(3) The layoffs and discharges rate is the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(4) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(5) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(6) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(7) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(8) 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

- Data not available.


Table 6. Other separations levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands)(2) Rates(3)
Dec.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sept.
2015
Oct.
2015
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sept.
2015
Oct.
2015
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

461 389 373 414 417 411 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

INDUSTRY

Total private(4)

399 332 301 337 351 343 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3

Construction

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Manufacturing

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Durable goods

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Nondurable goods

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Retail trade

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Professional and business services

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Education and health services(6)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Health care and social assistance

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Leisure and hospitality

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Accommodation and food services

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Government(7)

62 57 73 77 66 68 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3

State and local

- - - - - - - - - - - -

REGION(8)

Northeast

- - - - - - - - - - - -

South

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Midwest

- - - - - - - - - - - -

West

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Footnotes
(1) Other separations are the number of other separations during the entire month.
(2) Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
(3) The other separations rate is the number of other separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
(4) Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
(5) Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
(6) Includes educational services, not shown separately.
(7) Includes federal government, not shown separately.
(8) 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

- Data not available.


Table 7. Job openings levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

4,373 4,869 4,984 3.0 3.3 3.3

INDUSTRY

Total private

3,913 4,414 4,493 3.2 3.5 3.6

Mining and logging

19 17 18 2.1 2.1 2.2

Construction

97 98 140 1.5 1.5 2.1

Manufacturing

275 248 331 2.2 2.0 2.6

Durable goods

176 147 177 2.2 1.9 2.2

Nondurable goods

99 101 154 2.1 2.2 3.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

707 781 770 2.5 2.8 2.7

Wholesale trade

152 123 156 2.5 2.0 2.6

Retail trade

411 455 453 2.5 2.7 2.7

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

144 203 161 2.6 3.6 2.8

Information

96 63 114 3.3 2.2 3.9

Financial activities

244 318 361 2.9 3.7 4.2

Finance and insurance

191 276 290 3.1 4.3 4.5

Real estate and rental and leasing

53 42 72 2.5 2.0 3.3

Professional and business services

927 1,053 967 4.5 5.0 4.6

Education and health services

871 1,048 1,053 3.8 4.4 4.5

Educational services

78 90 87 2.2 2.4 2.4

Health care and social assistance

793 958 965 4.1 4.8 4.9

Leisure and hospitality

527 662 559 3.5 4.2 3.6

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

48 57 56 2.4 2.7 2.7

Accommodation and food services

478 605 503 3.7 4.4 3.7

Other services

149 126 181 2.6 2.2 3.1

Government

460 456 491 2.0 2.0 2.1

Federal

70 70 82 2.5 2.5 2.9

State and local

390 386 409 2.0 1.9 2.0

REGION(3)

Northeast

700 863 861 2.6 3.1 3.1

South

1,746 1,908 1,885 3.3 3.5 3.5

Midwest

1,000 1,090 1,089 3.0 3.3 3.3

West

926 1,008 1,149 2.8 3.0 3.4

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)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

3,750 4,877 3,898 2.7 3.4 2.7

INDUSTRY

Total private

3,549 4,601 3,667 3.0 3.8 3.0

Mining and logging

21 20 22 2.3 2.5 2.8

Construction

252 263 179 4.1 4.0 2.8

Manufacturing

181 230 181 1.5 1.9 1.5

Durable goods

108 129 107 1.4 1.7 1.4

Nondurable goods

73 102 74 1.6 2.2 1.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

884 1,421 902 3.2 5.2 3.2

Wholesale trade

117 108 93 2.0 1.8 1.6

Retail trade

583 1,051 583 3.6 6.5 3.6

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

183 262 226 3.4 4.8 4.1

Information

62 68 58 2.2 2.4 2.0

Financial activities

170 185 160 2.1 2.3 2.0

Finance and insurance

130 124 107 2.2 2.0 1.8

Real estate and rental and leasing

40 61 53 1.9 2.9 2.5

Professional and business services

783 917 845 4.0 4.6 4.2

Education and health services

433 525 449 2.0 2.3 2.0

Educational services

38 66 40 1.1 1.8 1.1

Health care and social assistance

395 459 410 2.2 2.4 2.2

Leisure and hospitality

641 819 744 4.4 5.4 5.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

94 96 104 4.8 4.7 5.1

Accommodation and food services

547 723 640 4.3 5.6 4.9

Other services

122 153 126 2.2 2.7 2.2

Government

201 276 231 0.9 1.2 1.0

Federal

25 54 36 0.9 2.0 1.3

State and local

176 222 195 0.9 1.1 1.0

REGION(3)

Northeast

588 783 610 2.2 2.9 2.3

South

1,486 1,829 1,491 2.9 3.5 2.9

Midwest

825 1,122 919 2.6 3.5 2.8

West

851 1,144 877 2.7 3.5 2.7

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)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

4,628 4,306 4,699 3.3 3.0 3.3

INDUSTRY

Total private

4,357 4,080 4,391 3.7 3.4 3.6

Mining and logging

33 30 43 3.6 3.7 5.5

Construction

438 294 311 7.1 4.5 4.8

Manufacturing

216 232 235 1.8 1.9 1.9

Durable goods

124 131 146 1.6 1.7 1.9

Nondurable goods

92 101 88 2.0 2.2 1.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,128 913 1,117 4.1 3.3 4.0

Wholesale trade

122 114 104 2.1 1.9 1.8

Retail trade

823 658 786 5.1 4.1 4.8

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

184 141 227 3.4 2.6 4.1

Information

67 69 51 2.4 2.5 1.8

Financial activities

201 164 180 2.5 2.0 2.2

Finance and insurance

161 109 123 2.7 1.8 2.0

Real estate and rental and leasing

41 55 57 2.0 2.6 2.7

Professional and business services

926 923 988 4.7 4.6 4.9

Education and health services

462 460 477 2.1 2.0 2.1

Educational services

52 55 52 1.5 1.5 1.4

Health care and social assistance

409 406 425 2.2 2.1 2.2

Leisure and hospitality

743 847 851 5.1 5.6 5.7

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

100 133 105 5.1 6.5 5.2

Accommodation and food services

644 713 746 5.1 5.5 5.7

Other services

142 148 139 2.5 2.6 2.4

Government

271 226 307 1.2 1.0 1.4

Federal

27 37 37 1.0 1.4 1.3

State and local

243 189 270 1.2 1.0 1.4

REGION(3)

Northeast

834 705 825 3.2 2.6 3.1

South

1,802 1,609 1,801 3.5 3.1 3.4

Midwest

972 1,040 1,056 3.1 3.2 3.3

West

1,020 952 1,018 3.2 2.9 3.1

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)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

2,211 2,364 2,556 1.6 1.6 1.8

INDUSTRY

Total private

2,100 2,259 2,426 1.8 1.9 2.0

Mining and logging

10 15 13 1.1 1.9 1.7

Construction

99 88 109 1.6 1.3 1.7

Manufacturing

96 112 92 0.8 0.9 0.7

Durable goods

53 54 57 0.7 0.7 0.7

Nondurable goods

43 58 36 0.9 1.3 0.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

566 540 639 2.1 2.0 2.3

Wholesale trade

69 55 53 1.2 0.9 0.9

Retail trade

416 413 474 2.6 2.6 2.9

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

81 72 113 1.5 1.3 2.0

Information

31 33 27 1.1 1.2 0.9

Financial activities

87 71 106 1.1 0.9 1.3

Finance and insurance

64 47 72 1.1 0.8 1.2

Real estate and rental and leasing

23 24 35 1.1 1.2 1.7

Professional and business services

385 453 487 2.0 2.3 2.4

Education and health services

272 316 315 1.2 1.4 1.4

Educational services

25 31 34 0.7 0.8 0.9

Health care and social assistance

247 284 282 1.3 1.5 1.5

Leisure and hospitality

472 540 547 3.2 3.6 3.6

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

35 35 42 1.8 1.7 2.1

Accommodation and food services

437 504 505 3.5 3.9 3.9

Other services

81 91 89 1.4 1.6 1.6

Government

111 105 130 0.5 0.5 0.6

Federal

10 11 10 0.3 0.4 0.4

State and local

101 94 119 0.5 0.5 0.6

REGION(3)

Northeast

337 329 356 1.3 1.2 1.3

South

953 929 1,062 1.9 1.8 2.0

Midwest

430 587 581 1.4 1.8 1.8

West

492 519 556 1.5 1.6 1.7

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)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

1,976 1,616 1,759 1.4 1.1 1.2

INDUSTRY

Total private

1,882 1,538 1,648 1.6 1.3 1.4

Mining and logging

20 11 27 2.2 1.5 3.5

Construction

323 200 194 5.2 3.0 3.0

Manufacturing

101 106 114 0.8 0.9 0.9

Durable goods

59 67 70 0.8 0.9 0.9

Nondurable goods

42 38 44 0.9 0.8 1.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

451 275 394 1.6 1.0 1.4

Wholesale trade

47 46 41 0.8 0.8 0.7

Retail trade

317 176 253 2.0 1.1 1.6

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

87 53 100 1.6 1.0 1.8

Information

28 28 14 1.0 1.0 0.5

Financial activities

60 54 51 0.7 0.7 0.6

Finance and insurance

48 26 30 0.8 0.4 0.5

Real estate and rental and leasing

12 27 20 0.6 1.3 1.0

Professional and business services

462 421 420 2.4 2.1 2.1

Education and health services

147 110 125 0.7 0.5 0.6

Educational services

23 18 15 0.6 0.5 0.4

Health care and social assistance

124 92 110 0.7 0.5 0.6

Leisure and hospitality

240 284 265 1.6 1.9 1.8

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

60 93 62 3.1 4.6 3.0

Accommodation and food services

180 191 203 1.4 1.5 1.6

Other services

50 49 43 0.9 0.9 0.8

Government

93 78 111 0.4 0.3 0.5

Federal

7 11 8 0.2 0.4 0.3

State and local

86 67 103 0.4 0.3 0.5

REGION(3)

Northeast

439 330 393 1.7 1.2 1.5

South

649 533 599 1.3 1.0 1.1

Midwest

459 386 400 1.4 1.2 1.2

West

429 367 367 1.3 1.1 1.1

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)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)
Dec.
2014
Nov.
2015
Dec.
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

441 326 384 0.3 0.2 0.3

INDUSTRY

Total private

374 283 318 0.3 0.2 0.3

Mining and logging

2 3 3 0.2 0.4 0.4

Construction

16 7 8 0.3 0.1 0.1

Manufacturing

19 14 28 0.2 0.1 0.2

Durable goods

12 10 20 0.1 0.1 0.3

Nondurable goods

7 4 8 0.2 0.1 0.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

111 97 83 0.4 0.4 0.3

Wholesale trade

5 13 11 0.1 0.2 0.2

Retail trade

90 68 59 0.6 0.4 0.4

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

16 17 14 0.3 0.3 0.3

Information

8 7 9 0.3 0.3 0.3

Financial activities

54 40 23 0.7 0.5 0.3

Finance and insurance

49 36 21 0.8 0.6 0.3

Real estate and rental and leasing

6 4 2 0.3 0.2 0.1

Professional and business services

79 49 81 0.4 0.2 0.4

Education and health services

43 35 36 0.2 0.2 0.2

Educational services

4 5 3 0.1 0.1 0.1

Health care and social assistance

39 30 33 0.2 0.2 0.2

Leisure and hospitality

31 23 39 0.2 0.1 0.3

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

4 5 1 0.2 0.2 0.1

Accommodation and food services

26 18 38 0.2 0.1 0.3

Other services

11 8 6 0.2 0.1 0.1

Government

66 43 67 0.3 0.2 0.3

Federal

11 16 18 0.4 0.6 0.7

State and local

55 28 48 0.3 0.1 0.2

REGION(3)

Northeast

58 45 75 0.2 0.2 0.3

South

200 147 140 0.4 0.3 0.3

Midwest

83 68 75 0.3 0.2 0.2

West

99 66 94 0.3 0.2 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.


Last Modified Date: February 09, 2016