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Economic News Release
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Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release

                                   
For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, April 10, 2012       USDL-12-0662

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 – February 2012

There were 3.5 million job openings on the last business day of
February, little changed from January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. The hires rate (3.3 percent) and
separations rate (3.1 percent) were little changed in February. The
job openings rate, at 2.6 percent, 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 February was 3.5 million, little changed
from January. (See table 1.) Although the number of job openings
remained below the 4.3 million openings when the recession began in
December 2007, the number of job openings has increased 46 percent
since the end of the recession in June 2009.

The number of job openings in February (not seasonally adjusted)
increased over the year for total nonfarm, total private, and
government. Retail trade, health care and social assistance, and state
and local government had increases in the number of job openings over
the year. The Midwest and South regions also experienced an increase
in the number of job openings over the year. (See table 5.)

Table A.  Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally
adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   |    Job openings    |       Hires        | Total separations
                   |--------------------------------------------------------------
     Industry      | Feb. | Jan. | Feb. | Feb. | Jan. | Feb. | Feb. | Jan. | Feb.
                   | 2011 | 2012 | 2012p| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p
-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
                   |                     Levels (in thousands)
                   |--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............|3,012 |3,477 |3,498 |4,089 |4,239 |4,385 |3,877 |4,017 |4,092
                   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
 Total private(1)..|2,697 |3,119 |3,125 |3,850 |3,945 |4,075 |3,610 |3,729 |3,787
  Construction.....|   48 |   86 |   84 |  366 |  331 |  310 |  320 |  308 |  322
  Manufacturing....|  214 |  261 |  253 |  258 |  253 |  259 |  230 |  217 |  236
  Trade, trans-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   portation, and  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   utilities(2)....|  479 |  584 |  599 |  854 |  836 |  819 |  813 |  837 |  781
   Retail trade....|  253 |  315 |  377 |  569 |  557 |  565 |  545 |  579 |  545
  Professional     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   and business    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   services........|  601 |  695 |  691 |  849 |  831 |  959 |  785 |  745 |  833
  Education and    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   health ser-     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   vices(3)........|  542 |  630 |  654 |  467 |  517 |  540 |  440 |  501 |  467
   Health care     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    and social     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    assistance.....|  478 |  576 |  597 |  385 |  441 |  469 |  366 |  412 |  404
  Leisure and      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   hospitality.....|  376 |  432 |  418 |  639 |  757 |  765 |  590 |  700 |  723
   Arts, enter-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    tainment and   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    recreation.....|   48 |   72 |   52 |  101 |  139 |  121 |   94 |  125 |  114
   Accommodation   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    and food       |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    services.......|  328 |  360 |  365 |  538 |  618 |  644 |  497 |  575 |  609
 Government(4).....|  315 |  358 |  373 |  239 |  294 |  311 |  267 |  288 |  305
  State and local  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   government......|  259 |  305 |  322 |  206 |  275 |  280 |  242 |  262 |  272
                   |--------------------------------------------------------------
                   |                       Rates (percent)
                   |--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............|  2.3 |  2.6 |  2.6 |  3.1 |  3.2 |  3.3 |  3.0 |  3.0 |  3.1
                   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
 Total private(1)..|  2.4 |  2.7 |  2.7 |  3.5 |  3.6 |  3.7 |  3.3 |  3.4 |  3.4
  Construction.....|  0.9 |  1.5 |  1.5 |  6.7 |  5.9 |  5.6 |  5.8 |  5.5 |  5.8
  Manufacturing....|  1.8 |  2.2 |  2.1 |  2.2 |  2.1 |  2.2 |  2.0 |  1.8 |  2.0
  Trade, trans-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   portation, and  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   utilities(2)....|  1.9 |  2.3 |  2.3 |  3.4 |  3.3 |  3.2 |  3.3 |  3.3 |  3.1
   Retail trade....|  1.7 |  2.1 |  2.5 |  3.9 |  3.8 |  3.8 |  3.7 |  3.9 |  3.7
  Professional     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   and business    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   services........|  3.4 |  3.8 |  3.7 |  5.0 |  4.7 |  5.4 |  4.6 |  4.2 |  4.7
  Education and    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   health ser-     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   vices(3)........|. 2.7 |  3.0 |  3.1 |  2.4 |  2.6 |  2.7 |  2.2 |  2.5 |  2.3
   Health care     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    and social     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    assistance.....|. 2.8 |  3.3 |  3.4 |  2.3 |  2.6 |  2.8 |  2.2 |  2.4 |  2.4
  Leisure and      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   hospitality.....|  2.8 |  3.1 |  3.0 |  4.8 |  5.6 |  5.6 |  4.5 |  5.2 |  5.3
   Arts, enter-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    tainment and   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    recreation.....|  2.4 |  3.6 |  2.6 |  5.3 |  7.2 |  6.3 |  4.9 |  6.5 |  5.9
   Accommodation   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    and food       |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    services.......|  2.8 |  3.0 |  3.0 |  4.8 |  5.3 |  5.5 |  4.4 |  5.0 |  5.2
 Government(4).....|  1.4 |  1.6 |  1.7 |  1.1 |  1.3 |  1.4 |  1.2 |  1.3 |  1.4
  State and local  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   government......|  1.3 |  1.6 |  1.7 |  1.1 |  1.4 |  1.5 |  1.2 |  1.4 |  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 educational services, not shown separately.
  4 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
  p = Preliminary

Hires

In February, the hires rate was essentially unchanged at 3.3 percent
for total nonfarm. The hires rate increased in professional and
business services over the month and was little changed in the
remaining industries and regions. (See table 2.) The number of hires
in February was 4.4 million, still below the 5.0 million hires at the
beginning of the recession (December 2007) but was up 19 percent since
the end of the recession (June 2009).

Over the 12 months ending in February, the hires rate (not seasonally
adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm and total private but
increased for government. The hires rate rose over the year in health
care and social assistance and in state and local government. The
hires rate increased in the South region over the year. (See table 6.)

Separations

The total separations figure includes voluntary quits, involuntary
layoffs and discharges, and other separations, including retirements.
Total separations also is referred to as turnover.

The seasonally adjusted total separations rate was little changed in
February for total nonfarm, total private, and government. (See table
3.) Over the year, the total separations rate (not seasonally
adjusted) 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 February, the quits rate was little changed
for total nonfarm, total private, and government. (See table 4.) The
number of quits rose to 2.1 million in February from 1.8 million at
the end of the recession in June 2009, although it remained below the
2.9 million recorded when the recession began in December 2007.

The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) in February 2012
increased from February 2011 for total nonfarm and was little changed
for total private and government. The number of quits over the year
was little changed 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 and for the four regions. The layoffs and discharges
rate was essentially unchanged in February 2012 for total nonfarm,
total private, government, and in all four regions. (See table B.) The
number of layoffs and discharges for total nonfarm was 1.7 million in
February, down from 2.1 million at the end of the recession in June
2009.

Table B.  Layoffs and discharges, seasonally adjusted
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       | Levels (in thousands) |    Rates (percent)
                       |------------------------------------------------
Industry and region(1) |  Feb. |  Jan. |  Feb. |  Feb. |  Jan. |  Feb.
                       |  2011 |  2012 |  2012p|  2011 |  2012 |  2012p
-----------------------|------------------------------------------------
Total..................| 1,624 | 1,684 | 1,673 |  1.2  |  1.3  |  1.3
 Total private.........| 1,517 | 1,587 | 1,556 |  1.4  |  1.4  |  1.4
 Government............|   107 |    97 |   117 |  0.5  |  0.4  |  0.5
                       |       |       |       |       |       |
                       |       |       |       |       |       |
 Northeast.............|   358 |   284 |   314 |  1.4  |  1.1  |  1.2
 South.................|   573 |   637 |   629 |  1.2  |  1.3  |  1.3
 Midwest...............|   329 |   376 |   363 |  1.1  |  1.2  |  1.2
 West..................|   363 |   386 |   367 |  1.3  |  1.3  |  1.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1 For region definitions see footnote 8, table 1.
  p = Preliminary

The layoffs and discharges level (not seasonally adjusted) for total
nonfarm, total private, and government was little changed from
February 2011 to February 2012. Over the year, the number of layoffs
and discharges rose for mining and logging. The number of layoffs and
discharges was little changed over the year in all four regions. (See
table 9.)

The other separations component of total separations is seasonally
adjusted at the total nonfarm, total private, and government levels.
Other separations include separations due to retirement, death, and
disability, as well as transfers to other locations of the same firm.
In February 2012, there were 329,000 other separations for total
nonfarm, 270,000 for total private, and 59,000 for government. (See
table C.) The number of other separations for total nonfarm in
February 2012 was 12 percent higher than at the end of the recession
in June 2009.

Table C.  Other separations, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                   | Levels (in thousands) |    Rates (percent)
                   |------------------------------------------------
     Industry      |  Feb. |  Jan. |  Feb. |  Feb. |  Jan. |  Feb.
                   |  2011 |  2012 |  2012p|  2011 |  2012 |  2012p
-------------------|------------------------------------------------
Total..............|   335 |   332 |   329 |  0.3  |  0.3  |  0.2
 Total private.....|   284 |   266 |   270 |  0.3  |  0.2  |  0.2
 Government........|    51 |    66 |    59 |  0.2  |  0.3  |  0.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------
  p = Preliminary

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 February
2012, hires totaled 50.6 million and separations totaled 48.6 million,
yielding a net employment gain of 2.0 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 March 2012 are
scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).



Technical Note


  The data for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)
are collected and compiled monthly from a sample of business
establishments by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Collection

  In a monthly survey of business establishments, data are
collected for total employment, job openings, hires, quits, layoffs
and discharges, and other separations.  Data collection methods
include computer-assisted telephone interviewing, touchtone data
entry, web, fax, e-mail, and mail.

Coverage

  The JOLTS program covers all private nonfarm establishments such
as factories, offices, and stores, as well as federal, state, and
local government entities in the 50 states and the District of
Columbia.

Concepts

  Industry classification.  The industry classifications in this
release are in accordance with the 2012 version of the North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS).  In order to
ensure the highest possible quality of data, State Workforce
Agencies verify with employers and update, if necessary, the
industry code, location, and ownership classification of all
establishments on a 3-year cycle.  Changes in establishment
characteristics resulting from the verification process are always
introduced into the JOLTS sampling frame with the data reported for
the first month of the year.

  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.  Establishments submit job openings information 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
regardless of whether a suitable candidate is found, 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.  Hires are 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.  Separations are the total number of terminations of
employment occurring at any time during the reference month, and
are reported by type of separation--quits, layoffs and discharges,
and other separations.  Quits are voluntary separations by
employees (except for retirements, which are reported as other
separations).  Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations
initiated by the employer and include 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.
Other separations include retirements, transfers to other
locations, deaths, and separations due to disability.  Separations
do 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, dividing the number by employment and
multiplying by 100.

  Annual estimates.  Annual estimates of rates and levels of hires,
quits, layoffs and discharges, other separations, and total
separations are released with the January news release each year.

   The JOLTS annual level estimates for hires, quits, layoffs and
discharges, other separations, and total separations are the sum of
the 12 published monthly levels.  The annual rate estimates 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.  Note that both the JOLTS and CES
annual levels are rounded to the nearest thousand before the annual
estimates are calculated.  Consistent with BLS practices, annual
estimates are published only for not seasonally adjusted data.

  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.  Only jobs still open on the last day
of the month are counted.  For the same reason job openings cannot
be cumulated throughout each month, annual figures for job openings
cannot be created by summing the monthly estimates.  Hires and
separations are flow measures and are cumulated over the month with
a total reported for the month.  Therefore, the annual figures can
be created by summing the monthly estimates.

Special collection procedures

  An implied measure of employment change can be derived from the
JOLTS data by subtracting separations from hires for a given
month.  Aggregating these monthly changes historically produced
employment levels that overstated employment change as measured by
CES at the total nonfarm level.  Research into this problem showed
that a significant amount of the divergence between the CES
employment levels and the derived JOLTS employment levels was
traceable to the Employment Services industry and to the State
Government Education industry.  In the former industry, businesses
have a difficult time reporting hires and separations of temporary
help workers.  In the latter industry, employers have difficulty
reporting hires and separations of student workers.  BLS now
devotes additional resources to the collection, editing, and review
of data for these industries.  BLS analysts more closely examine
reported data that do not provide a consistent picture over time,
and re-contact the respondents as necessary.  Analysts work with
the respondents to adjust their reporting practices as possible.
Units that cannot be reconciled but are clearly incorrect on a
consistent basis are not used, they are replaced by imputed values
using standard techniques.

Sample and estimation methodology

  The JOLTS survey design is a stratified random sample of 16,400
nonfarm business establishments, including factories, offices, and
stores, as well as federal, state, and local governments in the 50
states and the District of Columbia.  The establishments are drawn
from a universe of over 9.1 million establishments compiled as part
of the operations of the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
(QCEW) program.  This program includes all employers subject to state
Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws and federal agencies subject to
Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE).

  The sampling frame is stratified by ownership, region, industry
sector, and establishment size class. The JOLTS sample is constructed
from individual panels of sample units drawn on an annual basis. The
full annual sample consists of one certainty panel composed of only
large units selected with virtual certainty based on their size and
24 non-certainty panels.  Each month a new non-certainty panel is
rolled into collection, and the oldest non-certainty panel is
rolled out.  This means that at any given time the JOLTS sample is
constructed from panels from three different annual sampling
frames.  The entire sample of old plus new panels is post-
stratified and re-weighted annually to represent the most recent
sampling frame.  Additionally, the out-of-business establishments
are removed from the old panels.  The annual sample is supplemented
with a quarterly sample of birth establishments (i.e., new
establishments) to better reflect the impact of younger
establishments in the JOLTS sample.

  JOLTS total employment estimates are benchmarked or ratio adjusted
monthly to the strike-adjusted employment estimates of the Current
Employment Statistics (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.  BLS has developed a model
to estimate birth/death activity for current months by examining the
birth/death activity from previous years on the QCEW and projecting
forward using the ratio of over-the-year CES employment change. 
The birth/death model also uses historical JOLTS data to estimate the
amount of “churn” (hires and separations) that exists in establishments
of various sizes.  The model then combines the estimated churn with
the projected employment change to estimate the number of hires and
separations taking place in these units that cannot be measured
through sampling.

  The model-based estimate of total separations is distributed to
the three components–-quits; layoffs and discharges; and other
separations--in proportion to their contribution to the sample-
based estimate of total separations.  Additionally, job openings
for the modeled units are estimated by computing the ratio of
openings to hires in the collected data and applying that ratio to
the modeled hires.  The estimates of job openings, hires, and
separations produced by the birth/death model are then added to the
sample-based estimates produced from the survey to arrive at the
estimates for openings, hires, and separations.

Seasonal adjustment

  BLS seasonally adjusts several JOLTS series using the X-12 ARIMA
seasonal adjustment program.  Seasonal adjustment is the process of
estimating and removing periodic fluctuations caused by events such
as weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school
year.  Seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental
changes in the level of the series, particularly those associated
with general economic expansions and contractions.  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 the data for the current month.

  JOLTS uses moving averages as seasonal filters in seasonal
adjustment.  JOLTS seasonal adjustment includes both additive and
multiplicative seasonal adjustment models and REGARIMA (regression
with autocorrelated 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

  JOLTS hires minus separations should be comparable to the CES net
employment change.  However, definitional differences as well as
sampling and non-sampling 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.
The Monthly Alignment 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 trend and the CES net employment change is
calculated. Next, the JOLTS implied employment trend is adjusted to
equal the CES net employment change through a proportional
adjustment. This proportional adjustment procedure adjusts the two
components (hires, separations) proportionally to their
contribution to the total churn (hires plus separations).  For
example, if hires are 40 percent of the churn for a given month,
they will receive 40 percent of the needed adjustment and
separations will receive 60 percent of the needed adjustment. 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.  The monthly alignment procedure assures a close
match of the JOLTS implied employment trend with the CES trend. The
CES series is considered a highly accurate measure of net
employment change owing to its very large sample size and annual
benchmarking to universe counts of employment from the QCEW
program.

Historical changes in JOLTS data

  The JOLTS data series on job openings, hires, and separations are
relatively new.  The full sample is divided into panels, with one
panel enrolled each month.  A full complement of panels for the
original data series based on the 1987 Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC) system was not completely enrolled in the
survey until January 2002.  The supplemental panels of
establishments needed to create NAICS estimates were not completely
enrolled until May 2003.  The data collected up until those points
are from less than a full sample.  Therefore, estimates from
earlier months should be used with caution, as fewer sampled units
were reporting data at that time.

  In March 2002, BLS procedures for collecting hires and
separations data were revised to address possible underreporting.
As a result, JOLTS hires and separations estimates for months prior
to March 2002 may not be comparable to estimates for March 2002 and
later.

  The federal government reorganization that involved transferring
approximately 180,000 employees to the new Department of Homeland
Security is not reflected in the JOLTS hires and separations
estimates for the federal government.  The Office of Personnel
Management's record shows these transfers were completed in March
2003.  The inclusion of transfers in the JOLTS definitions of hires
and separations is intended to cover ongoing movements of workers
between establishments.  The Department of Homeland Security
reorganization was a massive one-time event, and the inclusion of
these intergovernmental transfers would distort the federal government
time series.

Reliability of the estimates

  JOLTS estimates are subject to both sampling and nonsampling
error.  When a sample rather than the entire population is
surveyed, 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.  Estimates of
sampling errors are available upon request.

  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(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

                                                      Levels(3) (in thousands)                              Rates

           Industry and region              Feb.   Sept.  Oct.   Nov.   Dec.   Jan.   Feb.   Feb.  Sept. Oct.  Nov.  Dec.  Jan.  Feb.
                                            2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2012   2012p  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011  2012  2012p

Total.................................     3,012  3,501  3,408  3,274  3,540  3,477  3,498    2.3   2.6   2.5   2.4   2.6   2.6   2.6

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  2,697  3,100  3,062  2,925  3,188  3,119  3,125    2.4   2.7   2.7   2.6   2.8   2.7   2.7
  Construction...........................     48     78     80     83     78     86     84     .9   1.4   1.4   1.5   1.4   1.5   1.5
  Manufacturing..........................    214    249    240    240    252    261    253    1.8   2.1   2.0   2.0   2.1   2.2   2.1
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)    479    599    594    581    574    584    599    1.9   2.3   2.3   2.3   2.2   2.3   2.3
   Retail trade..........................    253    359    334    316    323    315    377    1.7   2.4   2.2   2.1   2.1   2.1   2.5
  Professional and business services.....    601    692    644    561    785    695    691    3.4   3.8   3.6   3.1   4.3   3.8   3.7
  Education and health services(6)........   542    600    622    616    605    630    654    2.7   2.9   3.0   3.0   2.9   3.0   3.1
   Health care and social assistance         478    530    558    552    552    576    597    2.8   3.1   3.2   3.2   3.2   3.3   3.4
  Leisure and hospitality................    376    392    404    434    441    432    418    2.8   2.9   2.9   3.1   3.2   3.1   3.0
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...     48     56     62     58     44     72     52    2.4   2.8   3.1   2.9   2.3   3.6   2.6
   Accommodation and food services.......    328    336    342    376    397    360    365    2.8   2.9   2.9   3.2   3.3   3.0   3.0
 Government(7).........................      315    400    345    349    352    358    373    1.4   1.8   1.5   1.6   1.6   1.6   1.7
  State and local government.............    259    345    279    299    301    305    322    1.3   1.8   1.4   1.5   1.5   1.6   1.7


                 REGION(8)

  Northeast...........................       574    606    573    557    595    590    632    2.3   2.4   2.2   2.2   2.3   2.3   2.4
  South...............................     1,064  1,335  1,310  1,306  1,443  1,442  1,398    2.2   2.7   2.7   2.7   2.9   2.9   2.8
  Midwest.............................       630    736    715    730    763    738    766    2.1   2.4   2.3   2.4   2.5   2.4   2.5
  West................................       745    824    811    682    740    707    702    2.5   2.8   2.7   2.3   2.5   2.4   2.4


  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 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
  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(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

                                                      Levels(3) (in thousands)                              Rates

           Industry and region              Feb.   Sept.  Oct.   Nov.   Dec.   Jan.   Feb.   Feb.  Sept. Oct.  Nov.  Dec.  Jan.  Feb.
                                            2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2012   2012p  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011  2012  2012p

Total.................................     4,089  4,276  4,220  4,268  4,188  4,239  4,385    3.1   3.2   3.2   3.2   3.2   3.2   3.3

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  3,850  4,002  3,979  3,986  3,889  3,945  4,075    3.5   3.6   3.6   3.6   3.5   3.6   3.7
  Construction...........................    366    360    333    312    315    331    310    6.7   6.5   6.0   5.7   5.7   5.9   5.6
  Manufacturing..........................    258    240    240    237    269    253    259    2.2   2.0   2.0   2.0   2.3   2.1   2.2
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)    854    810    840    849    812    836    819    3.4   3.2   3.3   3.4   3.2   3.3   3.2
   Retail trade..........................    569    567    559    573    517    557    565    3.9   3.9   3.8   3.9   3.5   3.8   3.8
  Professional and business services.....    849    911    893    858    818    831    959    5.0   5.2   5.1   4.9   4.6   4.7   5.4
  Education and health services(6)........   467    486    484    483    494    517    540    2.4   2.4   2.4   2.4   2.5   2.6   2.7
   Health care and social assistance         385    391    414    407    414    441    469    2.3   2.3   2.5   2.4   2.5   2.6   2.8
  Leisure and hospitality................    639    736    719    779    743    757    765    4.8   5.5   5.4   5.8   5.5   5.6   5.6
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...    101    135    131    157    141    139    121    5.3   7.1   6.9   8.2   7.4   7.2   6.3
   Accommodation and food services.......    538    600    588    622    602    618    644    4.8   5.2   5.1   5.4   5.2   5.3   5.5
 Government(7).........................      239    275    241    281    299    294    311    1.1   1.2   1.1   1.3   1.4   1.3   1.4
  State and local government.............    206    248    215    252    270    275    280    1.1   1.3   1.1   1.3   1.4   1.4   1.5


                 REGION(8)

  Northeast...........................       690    664    684    691    676    710    725    2.8   2.6   2.7   2.7   2.7   2.8   2.9
  South...............................     1,491  1,626  1,656  1,626  1,634  1,667  1,827    3.1   3.4   3.5   3.4   3.4   3.5   3.8
  Midwest.............................     1,018    996    960  1,004    986    977    925    3.4   3.3   3.2   3.3   3.3   3.2   3.1
  West................................       890    990    919    947    891    884    908    3.1   3.4   3.2   3.3   3.1   3.0   3.1


  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 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
  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 See footnote 8, table 1.
  p = Preliminary


Table 3.  Total separations levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

                                                      Levels(3) (in thousands)                              Rates

           Industry and region              Feb.   Sept.  Oct.   Nov.   Dec.   Jan.   Feb.   Feb.  Sept. Oct.  Nov.  Dec.  Jan.  Feb.
                                            2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2012   2012p  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011  2012  2012p

Total.................................     3,877  4,089  4,065  4,057  4,023  4,017  4,092    3.0   3.1   3.1   3.1   3.0   3.0   3.1

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  3,610  3,808  3,781  3,750  3,695  3,729  3,787    3.3   3.5   3.4   3.4   3.4   3.4   3.4
  Construction...........................    320    324    325    300    303    308    322    5.8   5.9   5.9   5.4   5.5   5.5   5.8
  Manufacturing..........................    230    236    227    236    239    217    236    2.0   2.0   1.9   2.0   2.0   1.8   2.0
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)    813    811    813    770    773    837    781    3.3   3.2   3.2   3.1   3.1   3.3   3.1
   Retail trade..........................    545    567    539    520    509    579    545    3.7   3.9   3.7   3.5   3.5   3.9   3.7
  Professional and business services.....    785    857    831    807    792    745    833    4.6   4.9   4.8   4.6   4.5   4.2   4.7
  Education and health services(6)........   440    409    450    462    468    501    467    2.2   2.0   2.2   2.3   2.3   2.5   2.3
   Health care and social assistance         366    342    386    396    402    412    404    2.2   2.0   2.3   2.4   2.4   2.4   2.4
  Leisure and hospitality................    590    716    663    715    695    700    723    4.5   5.4   5.0   5.3   5.2   5.2   5.3
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...     94    140    114    142    133    125    114    4.9   7.3   6.0   7.4   7.0   6.5   5.9
   Accommodation and food services.......    497    576    549    573    562    575    609    4.4   5.0   4.8   5.0   4.9   5.0   5.2
 Government(7).........................      267    281    285    307    328    288    305    1.2   1.3   1.3   1.4   1.5   1.3   1.4
  State and local government.............    242    250    253    268    292    262    272    1.2   1.3   1.3   1.4   1.5   1.4   1.4


                 REGION(8)

  Northeast...........................       713    660    702    667    631    692    699    2.9   2.6   2.8   2.7   2.5   2.7   2.8
  South...............................     1,486  1,607  1,537  1,609  1,592  1,598  1,618    3.1   3.4   3.2   3.4   3.3   3.3   3.4
  Midwest.............................       833    897    949    881    905    866    902    2.8   3.0   3.2   2.9   3.0   2.9   3.0
  West................................       845    925    877    899    895    862    873    3.0   3.2   3.0   3.1   3.1   3.0   3.0


  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 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
  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 See footnote 8, table 1.
  p = Preliminary


Table 4.  Quits levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

                                                      Levels(3) (in thousands)                              Rates

           Industry and region              Feb.   Sept.  Oct.   Nov.   Dec.   Jan.   Feb.   Feb.  Sept. Oct.  Nov.  Dec.  Jan.  Feb.
                                            2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2012   2012p  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011  2012  2012p

Total.................................     1,918  2,015  1,983  1,976  2,008  2,002  2,090    1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.6

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  1,809  1,902  1,869  1,860  1,867  1,876  1,961    1.7   1.7   1.7   1.7   1.7   1.7   1.8
  Construction...........................     69     80     80     91     76     70     67    1.2   1.4   1.5   1.7   1.4   1.3   1.2
  Manufacturing..........................     91     99    105    121    113     97    101     .8    .8    .9   1.0   1.0    .8    .8
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)    456    456    461    413    447    449    457    1.8   1.8   1.8   1.6   1.8   1.8   1.8
   Retail trade..........................    321    336    330    294    331    342    344    2.2   2.3   2.2   2.0   2.2   2.3   2.3
  Professional and business services.....    390    395    368    380    363    352    373    2.3   2.3   2.1   2.2   2.1   2.0   2.1
  Education and health services(6)........   236    244    242    247    265    282    295    1.2   1.2   1.2   1.2   1.3   1.4   1.5
   Health care and social assistance         205    215    215    225    233    251    262    1.2   1.3   1.3   1.3   1.4   1.5   1.6
  Leisure and hospitality................    358    403    374    370    388    398    436    2.7   3.0   2.8   2.8   2.9   2.9   3.2
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...     40     45     41     36     48     43     55    2.1   2.4   2.1   1.9   2.5   2.2   2.9
   Accommodation and food services.......    318    358    334    335    340    355    380    2.8   3.1   2.9   2.9   2.9   3.1   3.3
 Government(7).........................      109    114    114    116    141    125    129     .5    .5    .5    .5    .6    .6    .6
  State and local government.............    101    104    102    106    131    116    116     .5    .5    .5    .6    .7    .6    .6


                 REGION(8)

  Northeast...........................       304    281    288    275    279    343    324    1.2   1.1   1.1   1.1   1.1   1.4   1.3
  South...............................       775    877    782    830    816    827    861    1.6   1.8   1.6   1.7   1.7   1.7   1.8
  Midwest.............................       431    425    477    443    469    412    469    1.5   1.4   1.6   1.5   1.6   1.4   1.6
  West................................       409    433    436    428    445    419    436    1.4   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.4   1.5


  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 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
  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 See footnote 8, table 1.
  p = Preliminary


Table 5.  Job openings levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                    Levels (in thousands)                  Rates

              Industry and region                  Feb.     Jan.     Feb.          Feb.     Jan.     Feb.
                                                   2011     2012     2012p         2011     2012     2012p

Total...........................................  2,873    3,661    3,306           2.2      2.7      2.5

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  2,575    3,324    2,959           2.4      3.0      2.6
  Mining and Logging............................     21       38       22           2.8      4.4      2.6
  Construction..................................     45       80       76            .9      1.5      1.5
  Manufacturing.................................    215      267      251           1.8      2.2      2.1
   Durable goods................................    139      195      166           1.9      2.6      2.2
   Nondurable goods.............................     76       72       85           1.7      1.6      1.9
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    447      594      538           1.8      2.3      2.1
   Wholesale trade..............................    122      165       97           2.2      2.9      1.7
   Retail trade.................................    208      292      315           1.4      2.0      2.1
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    117      137      126           2.4      2.7      2.5
  Information...................................     72       87       79           2.6      3.2      2.9
  Financial activities..........................    183      254      154           2.3      3.2      2.0
   Finance and insurance........................    152      176      109           2.6      3.0      1.9
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     31       79       45           1.6      4.0      2.3
  Professional and business services............    583      798      667           3.3      4.4      3.7
  Education and health services.................    526      692      634           2.6      3.3      3.0
   Educational services.........................     64       54       54           1.9      1.7      1.5
   Health care and social assistance............    462      638      580           2.7      3.7      3.3
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    356      386      395           2.7      2.9      3.0
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     48       58       52           2.7      3.3      2.9
   Accommodation and food services.............     308      328      343           2.7      2.9      3.0
  Other services................................    128      128      143           2.4      2.4      2.6

 Government.....................................    297      337      347           1.3      1.5      1.5
  Federal.......................................     56       49       50           1.9      1.7      1.8
  State and local...............................    242      288      297           1.2      1.5      1.5

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    526      631      594           2.1      2.5      2.3
  South.........................................  1,045    1,555    1,340           2.2      3.2      2.7
  Midwest.......................................    586      725      712           2.0      2.4      2.3
  West..........................................    716      750      661           2.5      2.6      2.2


  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 See footnote 8, table 1.
  p = Preliminary


Table 6.  Hires levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                    Levels (in thousands)                  Rates

              Industry and region                  Feb.     Jan.     Feb.          Feb.     Jan.     Feb.
                                                   2011     2012     2012p         2011     2012     2012p

Total...........................................  3,335    4,072    3,580           2.6      3.1      2.7

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  3,169    3,782    3,358           3.0      3.5      3.1
  Mining and Logging............................     19       42       31           2.6      5.1      3.7
  Construction..................................    287      280      240           5.7      5.4      4.7
  Manufacturing.................................    229      276      233           2.0      2.3      2.0
   Durable goods................................    139      170      141           1.9      2.3      1.9
   Nondurable goods.............................     91      106       92           2.1      2.4      2.1
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    652      723      617           2.7      2.9      2.5
   Wholesale trade..............................    127      152      103           2.3      2.8      1.9
   Retail trade.................................    407      434      409           2.9      3.0      2.8
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    119      137      105           2.5      2.8      2.2
  Information...................................     38       57       47           1.4      2.2      1.8
  Financial activities..........................    114      164      124           1.5      2.1      1.6
   Finance and insurance........................     75      117       78           1.3      2.0      1.4
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     40       47       46           2.1      2.5      2.4
  Professional and business services............    769      913      874           4.6      5.3      5.0
  Education and health services.................    390      522      456           2.0      2.6      2.2
   Educational services.........................     71       78       60           2.1      2.4      1.8
   Health care and social assistance............    319      445      396           1.9      2.6      2.3
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    515      611      614           4.1      4.8      4.7
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     64      109       71           3.8      6.4      4.1
   Accommodation and food services.............     450      502      543           4.1      4.5      4.8
  Other services................................    156      193      120           2.9      3.6      2.3

 Government.....................................    166      290      222            .7      1.3      1.0
  Federal.......................................     22       19       22            .8       .7       .8
  State and local...............................    143      271      201            .7      1.4      1.0

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    499      671      529           2.0      2.7      2.1
  South.........................................  1,277    1,656    1,573           2.7      3.5      3.3
  Midwest.......................................    839      918      741           2.9      3.1      2.5
  West..........................................    720      827      737           2.5      2.9      2.6


  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 See footnote 8, table 1.
  p = Preliminary


Table 7.  Total separations levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                    Levels (in thousands)                  Rates

              Industry and region                  Feb.     Jan.     Feb.          Feb.     Jan.     Feb.
                                                   2011     2012     2012p         2011     2012     2012p

Total...........................................  3,075    4,543    3,260           2.4      3.5      2.5

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  2,920    4,283    3,076           2.7      3.9      2.8
  Mining and Logging............................     17       33       27           2.3      4.1      3.3
  Construction..................................    270      402      274           5.4      7.8      5.4
  Manufacturing.................................    198      243      205           1.7      2.1      1.7
   Durable goods................................    112      137      108           1.6      1.9      1.5
   Nondurable goods.............................     86      106       97           2.0      2.4      2.2
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    689    1,086      663           2.8      4.3      2.7
   Wholesale trade..............................    113      153       90           2.1      2.8      1.6
   Retail trade.................................    471      774      470           3.3      5.3      3.3
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    105      160      102           2.2      3.3      2.1
  Information...................................     44       92       52           1.7      3.6      2.0
  Financial activities..........................    120      214      123           1.6      2.8      1.6
   Finance and insurance........................     76      142       74           1.3      2.5      1.3
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     44       73       50           2.3      3.8      2.6
  Professional and business services............    664      822      717           3.9      4.7      4.1
  Education and health services.................    354      504      377           1.8      2.5      1.9
   Educational services.........................     42       75       36           1.2      2.3      1.0
   Health care and social assistance............    312      429      341           1.9      2.6      2.0
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    415      700      509           3.3      5.5      3.9
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     48      101       57           2.8      5.9      3.3
   Accommodation and food services.............     366      599      452           3.4      5.4      4.0
  Other services................................    149      184      129           2.8      3.5      2.4

 Government.....................................    155      260      184            .7      1.2       .8
  Federal.......................................     19       31       25            .7      1.1       .9
  State and local...............................    136      229      159            .7      1.2       .8

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    534      788      524           2.2      3.2      2.1
  South.........................................  1,200    1,823    1,325           2.6      3.9      2.8
  Midwest.......................................    650      982      699           2.2      3.3      2.3
  West..........................................    691      950      711           2.4      3.3      2.5


  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 See footnote 8, table 1.
  p = Preliminary


Table 8.  Quits levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                    Levels (in thousands)                  Rates

              Industry and region                  Feb.     Jan.     Feb.          Feb.     Jan.     Feb.
                                                   2011     2012     2012p         2011     2012     2012p

Total...........................................  1,514    1,965    1,664           1.2      1.5      1.3

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  1,437    1,849    1,572           1.3      1.7      1.4
  Mining and Logging............................     11       15       14           1.6      1.8      1.7
  Construction..................................     52       60       49           1.0      1.2      1.0
  Manufacturing.................................     75       90       84            .6       .8       .7
   Durable goods................................     42       47       41            .6       .6       .6
   Nondurable goods.............................     33       43       43            .8      1.0      1.0
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    369      448      377           1.5      1.8      1.5
   Wholesale trade..............................     52       47       39            .9       .8       .7
   Retail trade.................................    258      338      284           1.8      2.3      2.0
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     59       63       53           1.3      1.3      1.1
  Information...................................     23       49       24            .9      1.9       .9
  Financial activities..........................     54       85       67            .7      1.1       .9
   Finance and insurance........................     39       48       44            .7       .8       .8
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     15       37       22            .8      1.9      1.2
  Professional and business services............    327      341      320           1.9      2.0      1.8
  Education and health services.................    188      283      241            .9      1.4      1.2
   Educational services.........................     20       30       21            .6       .9       .6
   Health care and social assistance............    168      253      220           1.0      1.5      1.3
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    266      377      325           2.1      2.9      2.5
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     23       29       33           1.4      1.7      1.9
   Accommodation and food services.............     243      347      292           2.2      3.1      2.6
  Other services................................     71      103       71           1.3      1.9      1.3

 Government.....................................     77      116       92            .3       .5       .4
  Federal.......................................      6       11       11            .2       .4       .4
  State and local...............................     71      105       81            .4       .5       .4

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    223      329      247            .9      1.3      1.0
  South.........................................    617      855      687           1.3      1.8      1.4
  Midwest.......................................    334      382      370           1.1      1.3      1.2
  West..........................................    340      399      360           1.2      1.4      1.3


  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 See footnote 8, table 1.
  p = Preliminary


Table 9.  Layoffs and discharges levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                    Levels (in thousands)                  Rates

              Industry and region                  Feb.     Jan.     Feb.          Feb.     Jan.     Feb.
                                                   2011     2012     2012p         2011     2012     2012p

Total...........................................  1,276    2,135    1,310           1.0      1.6      1.0

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  1,232    2,059    1,258           1.2      1.9      1.2
  Mining and Logging............................      4       16       12            .5      2.0      1.5
  Construction..................................    211      319      213           4.2      6.2      4.2
  Manufacturing.................................    105      120       96            .9      1.0       .8
   Durable goods................................     57       70       55            .8       .9       .7
   Nondurable goods.............................     48       50       41           1.1      1.1       .9
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    249      537      223           1.0      2.1       .9
   Wholesale trade..............................     47       86       39            .9      1.5       .7
   Retail trade.................................    173      369      153           1.2      2.5      1.1
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     30       82       31            .6      1.7       .6
  Information...................................     17       39       26            .6      1.5      1.0
  Financial activities..........................     48       64       29            .6       .8       .4
   Finance and insurance........................     27       32       20            .5       .6       .3
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     21       32        9           1.1      1.7       .5
  Professional and business services............    291      405      355           1.7      2.3      2.0
  Education and health services.................    110      182       98            .6       .9       .5
   Educational services.........................     19       40       11            .6      1.2       .3
   Health care and social assistance............     92      142       87            .6       .8       .5
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    126      307      158           1.0      2.4      1.2
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     23       70       21           1.3      4.1      1.2
   Accommodation and food services.............     104      237      137            .9      2.1      1.2
  Other services................................     69       70       48           1.3      1.3       .9

 Government.....................................     44       76       52            .2       .3       .2
  Federal.......................................      5        8        6            .2       .3       .2
  State and local...............................     39       68       46            .2       .4       .2

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    269      374      224           1.1      1.5       .9
  South.........................................    462      799      521           1.0      1.7      1.1
  Midwest.......................................    254      481      270            .9      1.6       .9
  West..........................................    291      482      294           1.0      1.7      1.0


  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 See footnote 8, table 1.
  p = Preliminary


Table 10.  Other separations levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

                                                    Levels (in thousands)                  Rates

              Industry and region                  Feb.     Jan.     Feb.          Feb.     Jan.     Feb.
                                                   2011     2012     2012p         2011     2012     2012p

Total...........................................    285      443      286           0.2      0.3      0.2

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................    251      374      246            .2       .3       .2
  Mining and Logging............................      1        2      (4)            .2       .3      (4)
  Construction..................................      6       23       12            .1       .4       .2
  Manufacturing.................................     18       33       26            .2       .3       .2
   Durable goods................................     13       21       12            .2       .3       .2
   Nondurable goods.............................      5       12       13            .1       .3       .3
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........     71      101       63            .3       .4       .3
   Wholesale trade..............................     15       20       12            .3       .4       .2
   Retail trade.................................     40       67       33            .3       .5       .2
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     16       14       18            .3       .3       .4
  Information...................................      4        4        2            .2       .2       .1
  Financial activities..........................     18       66       28            .2       .9       .4
   Finance and insurance........................     10       61        9            .2      1.1       .2
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........      8        5       18            .4       .2      1.0
  Professional and business services............     46       76       42            .3       .4       .2
  Education and health services.................     56       40       37            .3       .2       .2
   Educational services.........................      3        5        3            .1       .2       .1
   Health care and social assistance............     53       35       34            .3       .2       .2
  Leisure and hospitality.......................     22       17       27            .2       .1       .2
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........      2        1        3            .1       .1       .2
   Accommodation and food services.............      20       15       24            .2       .1       .2
  Other services................................      8       12        9            .2       .2       .2

 Government.....................................     34       68       40            .1       .3       .2
  Federal.......................................      8       12        8            .3       .4       .3
  State and local...............................     25       57       32            .1       .3       .2

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................     42       85       52            .2       .3       .2
  South.........................................    121      171      117            .3       .4       .2
  Midwest.......................................     62      118       59            .2       .4       .2
  West..........................................     60       69       57            .2       .2       .2


  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 See footnote 8, table 1.
  4 Data round to zero.
  p = Preliminary


Last Modified Date: April 10, 2012