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Economic News Release
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JOLTS JLT Program Links

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, December 8, 2009     USDL-09-1499

Technical information:   (202) 691-5870 • JoltsInfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/jlt
Media contact:           (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov




NOTE: This release was reissued on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, to correct an error
in the “Separations” section on page 3 of the text. The stated change in the number 
of quits between December 2006 and April 2009 was corrected to 1.4 million.


            Job Openings and Labor Turnover – October 2009


There were 2.5 million job openings on the last business day of
October 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The
job openings rate was unchanged over the month at 1.9 percent. The
openings rate has held relatively steady since March 2009. The hires
rate (3.0 percent) and the separations rate (3.2 percent) were
essentially unchanged and remained low. This release includes
estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and
separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic
region.



Job Openings

The job openings rate was unchanged in October at 1.9 percent. After
falling steeply from mid-2007 through February 2009, the job openings
rate has been steady at 1.8 percent or 1.9 percent since March 2009.
The number of job openings fell by 2.3 million from the most recent
peak in June 2007 to April 2009 but has declined by only 7,000 since.
The job openings rate was essentially unchanged in every industry and
region in October. (See table 1.)



Over the 12 months ending in October, the job openings rate (not
seasonally adjusted) decreased for total nonfarm, total private, and
government. The job openings rate also decreased in many industries:
mining and logging; durable goods manufacturing; nondurable goods
manufacturing; retail trade; transportation, warehousing, and
utilities; information; educational services; health care and social
assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and
food services; and state and local government. The job openings rate
decreased in 3 of the 4 regions—Midwest, Northeast, and South. (See
table 5.)

                              - 2 -

Table A.  Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally
adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   |    Job openings    |       Hires        | Total separations
                   |--------------------------------------------------------------
     Industry      | Oct. | Sept.| Oct. | Oct. | Sept.| Oct. | Oct. | Sept.| Oct.
                   | 2008 | 2009 | 2009p| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p
-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
                   |                     Levels (in thousands)
                   |--------------------------------------------------------------
Total(1)...........|3,390 |2,586 |2,506 |4,486 |4,061 |3,966 |4,910 |4,325 |4,203
                   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
 Total private(1)..|2,964 |2,298 |2,186 |4,160 |3,800 |3,684 |4,607 |4,038 |3,919
  Construction.....|   79 |   70 |   57 |  380 |  349 |  342 |  440 |  421 |  402
  Manufacturing....|  230 |  132 |  135 |  290 |  270 |  251 |  404 |  314 |  311
  Trade, trans-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   portation, and  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   utilities(2)....|  564 |  407 |  398 |  933 |  842 |  781 |1,034 |  870 |  834
   Retail trade....|  363 |  271 |  275 |  624 |  535 |  527 |  680 |  561 |  562
  Professional     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   and business    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   services........|  603 |  501 |  464 |  788 |  724 |  709 |  906 |  740 |  722
  Education and    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   health ser-     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   vices...........|  646 |  546 |  532 |  544 |  526 |  512 |  507 |  502 |  460
  Leisure and      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   hospitality.....|  417 |  311 |  275 |  769 |  656 |  646 |  794 |  697 |  699
   Arts, enter-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    tainment and   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    recreation.....|   47 |   23 |   20 |  119 |  104 |   81 |  124 |  102 |  107
   Accommodation   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    and food       |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    services.......|  370 |  286 |  255 |  651 |  562 |  558 |  670 |  590 |  590
 Government(3).....|  427 |  296 |  327 |  318 |  266 |  278 |  294 |  279 |  282
  State and local  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   government......|  344 |  240 |  250 |  275 |  244 |  236 |  265 |  260 |  249
                   |--------------------------------------------------------------
                   |                       Rates (percent)
                   |--------------------------------------------------------------
Total(1)...........|  2.4 |  1.9 |  1.9 |  3.3 |  3.1 |  3.0 |  3.6 |  3.3 |  3.2
                   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
 Total private(1)..|  2.5 |  2.1 |  2.0 |  3.7 |  3.5 |  3.4 |  4.0 |  3.7 |  3.6
  Construction.....|  1.1 |  1.2 |  0.9 |  5.4 |  5.8 |  5.7 |  6.2 |  7.0 |  6.7
  Manufacturing....|  1.7 |  1.1 |  1.1 |  2.2 |  2.3 |  2.2 |  3.1 |  2.7 |  2.7
  Trade, trans-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   portation, and  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   utilities(2)....|  2.1 |  1.6 |  1.6 |  3.6 |  3.4 |  3.1 |  4.0 |  3.5 |  3.3
   Retail trade....|  2.3 |  1.8 |  1.8 |  4.1 |  3.6 |  3.6 |  4.5 |  3.8 |  3.8
  Professional     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   and business    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   services........|  3.3 |  2.9 |  2.7 |  4.5 |  4.4 |  4.3 |  5.1 |  4.5 |  4.3
  Education and    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   health ser-     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   vices...........|  3.3 |  2.7 |  2.7 |  2.9 |  2.7 |  2.6 |  2.7 |  2.6 |  2.4
  Leisure and      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   hospitality.....|  3.0 |  2.3 |  2.1 |  5.7 |  5.0 |  4.9 |  5.9 |  5.3 |  5.3
   Arts, enter-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    tainment and   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    recreation.....|  2.4 |  1.2 |  1.1 |  6.1 |  5.5 |  4.3 |  6.4 |  5.3 |  5.7
   Accommodation   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    and food       |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    services.......|  3.1 |  2.5 |  2.2 |  5.7 |  5.0 |  5.0 |  5.9 |  5.2 |  5.3
 Government(3).....|  1.9 |  1.3 |  1.4 |  1.4 |  1.2 |  1.2 |  1.3 |  1.2 |  1.3
  State and local  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   government......|  1.7 |  1.2 |  1.3 |  1.4 |  1.2 |  1.2 |  1.3 |  1.3 |  1.3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and
other services, not shown separately.
  2 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not
shown separately.
  3 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
  p = preliminary.


Hires

The hires rate was essentially unchanged in October at 3.0 percent.
The rate has remained between 3.0 percent and 3.2 percent since
February 2009. The hires level fell by 1.5 million from the most recent

                              - 3 -

peak in July 2006 to March 2009 but has declined by only
133,000 since. The hires rate was essentially unchanged in every
industry and region in October. (See table 2.)

Over the 12 months ending in October, the hires rate (not seasonally
adjusted) declined for total nonfarm and total private. The hires rate
decreased over the 12 months for wholesale trade; retail trade;
information; accommodation and food services; and state and local
government. The rate increased for federal government. The hires rate
fell over the past 12 months in the Midwest and South. (See table 6.)

Separations

The total separations, or turnover, rate was little changed in October
and remained low at 3.2 percent. The total separations rate (not
seasonally adjusted) decreased over the 12 months ending in October
for total nonfarm and total private. Total separations includes quits
(voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (involuntary
separations), and other separations (including retirements). (See
tables 3 and 7.)

The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or
ability to change jobs. The quits rate was essentially unchanged in
October at 1.3 percent. The quits level remained at 1.8 million in
October. The number of quits has held steady since April 2009 after
falling by 1.4 million from the most recent peak in December 2006.
(See table 4.)

Over the 12 months ending in October, the quits rate (not seasonally
adjusted) was lower for total nonfarm, total private, government, and
many industries, including mining and logging; durable goods
manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation,
warehousing, and utilities; professional and business services;
accommodation and food services; and state and local government. The
quits rate decreased in 3 of the 4 regions—Midwest, South, and West.
(See table 8.)

The layoffs and discharges component of total separations is
seasonally adjusted at the total nonfarm, total private, and
government levels. The layoffs and discharges levels for total
nonfarm, total private, and government were little changed in October
at 2.1 million, 2.0 million, and 113,000 respectively. The
corresponding layoffs and discharges rates were 1.6 percent, 1.8
percent, and 0.5 percent. The number of layoffs and discharges at the
total nonfarm level peaked at 2.6 million in January 2009; the most
recent trough was 1.6 million in January 2006. (See table B below.)

The layoffs and discharges rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little
changed over the 12 months ending in October for total nonfarm, total
private, and government. The layoffs and discharges rate rose in
mining and logging and in construction; the rate fell in information.
The layoffs and discharges rate was little changed in all four
regions. (See table 9.)

Table B.  Layoffs and discharges by industry, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                   | Levels (in thousands) |        Rates
                   |------------------------------------------------
     Industry      |  Oct. |  Sept.|  Oct. |  Oct. |  Sept.|  Oct.
                   |  2008 |  2009 |  2009p|  2008 |  2009 |  2009p
-------------------|------------------------------------------------
Total..............| 2,111 | 2,128 | 2,121 |  1.5  |  1.6  |  1.6
 Total private.....| 2,000 | 2,036 | 1,999 |  1.8  |  1.9  |  1.8
 Government....... |   103 |   120 |   113 |  0.5  |  0.5  |  0.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------
  p = preliminary.


                              - 4 -

The other separations series is not seasonally adjusted. In October,
there were 327,000 other separations for total nonfarm, 278,000 for
total private, and 49,000 for government. Compared to October 2008,
the number of other separations was little changed for total nonfarm,
total private, and government. (See table 10.)

The total separations level is influenced by the relative contribution
of its three components—quits, layoffs and discharges, and other
separations. The percentage of total separations at the total nonfarm
level attributable to the individual components has varied over time.
The proportion of quits had exceeded the proportion of layoffs and
discharges every month from the beginning of the series in December
2000 until November 2008 when layoffs and discharges became the larger
contributor to total separations. The proportion of separations due to
quits fell to a series low of 38 percent in April 2009 but has since
risen slightly, standing at 42 percent in October 2009. The proportion
of separations due to layoffs and discharges rose to a series high of
55 percent in July 2009 but has since dropped slightly, standing at 50
percent in October 2009. (See tables 3 and 4, and table B above.)

Net Change in Employment

Over the 12 months ending in October, hires totaled 49.9 million and
separations totaled 54.9 million, yielding a net employment loss of
5.0 million.
______________________________

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for November 2009
are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, at 10:00
a.m. (EST). Scheduled release dates for the balance of 2010 are as
follows:
     
               Dec.  —  Feb. 9          June  —  Aug. 11
               Jan.   —  March 9        July   —  Sept. 8
               Feb.  —  April 6         Aug.  —  Oct. 7
               March  —  May 11         Sept.  —  Nov. 9
               April    —  June 8       Oct.   —  Dec. 7
               May     —  July 13
     



                         - 5 -

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, 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 2007 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

                         - 6 -

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 random sample of 16,000 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 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 monthly to the
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 to the present using an econometric technique known as X-12
ARIMA modeling. 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.

                         - 7 -

  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.

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.

Using 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.

  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.

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

                         - 8 -

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; TDD
message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1.  Job openings levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

                                                      Levels(3) (in thousands)                              Rates

           Industry and region              Oct.   May    June   July   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Oct.  May   June  July  Aug.  Sept. Oct.
                                            2008   2009   2009   2009   2009   2009   2009p  2008  2009  2009  2009  2009  2009  2009p

Total(4).................................  3,390  2,523  2,513  2,408  2,423  2,586  2,506    2.4   1.9   1.9   1.8   1.8   1.9   1.9

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  2,964  2,191  2,163  2,090  2,128  2,298  2,186    2.5   2.0   1.9   1.9   1.9   2.1   2.0
  Construction...........................     79     39     56     47     65     70     57    1.1    .6    .9    .8   1.1   1.2    .9
  Manufacturing..........................    230    105    113    110    122    132    135    1.7    .9    .9    .9   1.0   1.1   1.1
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)    564    466    469    393    422    407    398    2.1   1.8   1.8   1.5   1.6   1.6   1.6
   Retail trade..........................    363    319    308    260    273    271    275    2.3   2.1   2.0   1.7   1.8   1.8   1.8
  Professional and business services.....    603    451    445    431    438    501    464    3.3   2.6   2.6   2.5   2.6   2.9   2.7
  Education and health services..........    646    530    531    553    520    546    532    3.3   2.7   2.7   2.8   2.6   2.7   2.7
  Leisure and hospitality................    417    265    276    256    238    311    275    3.0   2.0   2.1   1.9   1.8   2.3   2.1
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...     47     20     19     17     22     23     20    2.4   1.0   1.0    .9   1.1   1.2   1.1
   Accommodation and food services.......    370    239    254    237    216    286    255    3.1   2.1   2.2   2.1   1.9   2.5   2.2
 Government(6)...........................    427    310    322    314    300    296    327    1.9   1.4   1.4   1.4   1.3   1.3   1.4
  State and local government.............    344    267    273    266    269    240    250    1.7   1.3   1.4   1.3   1.4   1.2   1.3


                 REGION(7)

  Northeast..............................    636    554    609    508    513    539    496    2.4   2.2   2.4   2.0   2.0   2.1   2.0
  South..................................  1,314    888    882    870    911    930    898    2.6   1.8   1.8   1.8   1.9   1.9   1.9
  Midwest................................    698    512    496    509    476    556    515    2.2   1.7   1.6   1.7   1.6   1.8   1.7
  West...................................    734    544    561    517    533    575    599    2.3   1.8   1.9   1.7   1.8   1.9   2.0


  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.
  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 federal government, not shown separately.
  7 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              Oct.   May    June   July   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Oct.  May   June  July  Aug.  Sept. Oct.
                                            2008   2009   2009   2009   2009   2009   2009p  2008  2009  2009  2009  2009  2009  2009p

Total(4).................................  4,486  3,942  3,919  4,228  4,040  4,061  3,966    3.3   3.0   3.0   3.2   3.1   3.1   3.0

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  4,160  3,739  3,654  3,930  3,779  3,800  3,684    3.7   3.4   3.3   3.6   3.5   3.5   3.4
  Construction...........................    380    365    277    355    297    349    342    5.4   5.8   4.5   5.8   4.9   5.8   5.7
  Manufacturing..........................    290    206    225    272    243    270    251    2.2   1.7   1.9   2.3   2.1   2.3   2.2
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)    933    842    744    819    818    842    781    3.6   3.3   2.9   3.3   3.3   3.4   3.1
   Retail trade..........................    624    575    519    547    557    535    527    4.1   3.9   3.5   3.7   3.8   3.6   3.6
  Professional and business services.....    788    721    644    686    715    724    709    4.5   4.3   3.9   4.1   4.3   4.4   4.3
  Education and health services..........    544    473    530    522    538    526    512    2.9   2.5   2.8   2.7   2.8   2.7   2.6
  Leisure and hospitality................    769    695    695    716    695    656    646    5.7   5.3   5.3   5.4   5.3   5.0   4.9
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...    119     83    107    138    107    104     81    6.1   4.4   5.7   7.3   5.7   5.5   4.3
   Accommodation and food services.......    651    606    590    582    591    562    558    5.7   5.4   5.2   5.2   5.2   5.0   5.0
 Government(6)...........................    318    273    262    282    261    266    278    1.4   1.2   1.2   1.3   1.2   1.2   1.2
  State and local government.............    275    257    237    253    233    244    236    1.4   1.3   1.2   1.3   1.2   1.2   1.2


                 REGION(7)

  Northeast..............................    759    712    735    714    720    693    746    3.0   2.9   3.0   2.9   2.9   2.8   3.0
  South..................................  1,652  1,423  1,428  1,544  1,493  1,502  1,425    3.4   3.0   3.0   3.3   3.2   3.2   3.0
  Midwest................................  1,051    867    839    885    947    911    889    3.4   2.9   2.8   3.0   3.2   3.1   3.0
  West...................................  1,043    995    917  1,042    884    939    909    3.4   3.4   3.1   3.5   3.0   3.2   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.
  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 federal government, not shown separately.
  7 See footnote 7, 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              Oct.   May    June   July   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Oct.  May   June  July  Aug.  Sept. Oct.
                                            2008   2009   2009   2009   2009   2009   2009p  2008  2009  2009  2009  2009  2009  2009p

Total(4).................................  4,910  4,356  4,306  4,430  4,284  4,325  4,203    3.6   3.3   3.3   3.4   3.3   3.3   3.2

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  4,607  4,066  3,939  4,147  3,976  4,038  3,919    4.0   3.7   3.6   3.8   3.7   3.7   3.6
  Construction...........................    440    411    355    444    342    421    402    6.2   6.5   5.7   7.2   5.6   7.0   6.7
  Manufacturing..........................    404    367    352    329    313    314    311    3.1   3.1   3.0   2.8   2.7   2.7   2.7
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)  1,034    951    816    874    850    870    834    4.0   3.8   3.2   3.5   3.4   3.5   3.3
   Retail trade..........................    680    601    549    578    567    561    562    4.5   4.1   3.7   3.9   3.8   3.8   3.8
  Professional and business services.....    906    771    698    738    728    740    722    5.1   4.6   4.2   4.4   4.4   4.5   4.3
  Education and health services..........    507    419    489    500    509    502    460    2.7   2.2   2.5   2.6   2.6   2.6   2.4
  Leisure and hospitality................    794    684    696    713    704    697    699    5.9   5.2   5.3   5.4   5.3   5.3   5.3
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...    124     88    115    121    111    102    107    6.4   4.6   6.1   6.4   5.9   5.3   5.7
   Accommodation and food services.......    670    596    594    594    593    590    590    5.9   5.3   5.3   5.3   5.3   5.2   5.3
 Government(6)...........................    294    288    340    298    293    279    282    1.3   1.3   1.5   1.3   1.3   1.2   1.3
  State and local government.............    265    250    272    274    271    260    249    1.3   1.3   1.4   1.4   1.4   1.3   1.3


                 REGION(7)

  Northeast..............................    743    774    799    716    759    744    723    2.9   3.1   3.2   2.9   3.1   3.0   2.9
  South..................................  1,782  1,565  1,535  1,602  1,490  1,521  1,529    3.6   3.3   3.2   3.4   3.1   3.2   3.2
  Midwest................................  1,168  1,016    958    958    951    985    936    3.8   3.4   3.2   3.2   3.2   3.3   3.1
  West...................................  1,209    980  1,053  1,181  1,086  1,036  1,013    4.0   3.3   3.6   4.0   3.7   3.5   3.5


  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 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series.
  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 federal government, not shown separately.
  7 See footnote 7, 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              Oct.   May    June   July   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Oct.  May   June  July  Aug.  Sept. Oct.
                                            2008   2009   2009   2009   2009   2009   2009p  2008  2009  2009  2009  2009  2009  2009p

Total(4).................................  2,436  1,788  1,787  1,778  1,779  1,804  1,754    1.8   1.4   1.4   1.4   1.4   1.4   1.3

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  2,305  1,682  1,680  1,673  1,680  1,713  1,655    2.0   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.6   1.5
  Construction...........................    107     84     70     68     67     90     72    1.5   1.3   1.1   1.1   1.1   1.5   1.2
  Manufacturing..........................    143     86     93     82     85     94     80    1.1    .7    .8    .7    .7    .8    .7
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)    548    398    391    415    407    445    372    2.1   1.6   1.5   1.6   1.6   1.8   1.5
   Retail trade..........................    377    296    299    295    309    342    275    2.5   2.0   2.0   2.0   2.1   2.3   1.9
  Professional and business services.....    477    281    257    265    269    276    282    2.7   1.7   1.5   1.6   1.6   1.7   1.7
  Education and health services..........    294    249    264    235    249    269    267    1.5   1.3   1.4   1.2   1.3   1.4   1.4
  Leisure and hospitality................    516    396    429    411    413    351    372    3.8   3.0   3.3   3.1   3.1   2.7   2.8
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...     39     45     46     38     38     17     36    2.0   2.4   2.4   2.0   2.0    .9   1.9
   Accommodation and food services.......    476    351    378    372    374    339    339    4.2   3.1   3.4   3.3   3.3   3.0   3.0
 Government(6)...........................    132    107    111    107    106     98    103     .6    .5    .5    .5    .5    .4    .5
  State and local government.............    122     97     99    101     97     95     97     .6    .5    .5    .5    .5    .5    .5


                 REGION(7)

  Northeast..............................    347    303    279    234    270    297    290    1.4   1.2   1.1   1.0   1.1   1.2   1.2
  South..................................    949    718    693    724    687    701    691    1.9   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5
  Midwest................................    595    397    403    435    374    405    385    1.9   1.3   1.3   1.5   1.3   1.4   1.3
  West...................................    541    398    434    404    460    414    391    1.8   1.3   1.5   1.4   1.6   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 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series.
  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 federal government, not shown separately.
  7 See footnote 7, 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                  Oct.     Sept.    Oct.          Oct.     Sept.    Oct.
                                                   2008     2009     2009p         2008     2009     2009p

Total...........................................  3,580    2,664    2,700           2.5      2.0      2.0

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  3,151    2,381    2,361           2.7      2.1      2.1
  Mining and Logging............................     15       11        6           1.8      1.5       .8
  Construction..................................     69       84       51            .9      1.3       .8
  Manufacturing.................................    243      144      160           1.8      1.2      1.3
   Durable goods................................    131       71       74           1.5      1.0      1.0
   Nondurable goods.............................    112       73       86           2.2      1.6      1.8
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    647      429      457           2.4      1.7      1.8
   Wholesale trade..............................    104       68       74           1.7      1.2      1.3
   Retail trade.................................    432      307      326           2.8      2.1      2.2
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    110       54       57           2.1      1.1      1.2
  Information...................................    107       64       74           3.5      2.2      2.5
  Financial activities..........................    173      211      162           2.1      2.7      2.1
   Finance and insurance........................    128      147      109           2.1      2.5      1.9
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     45       64       53           2.1      3.1      2.6
  Professional and business services............    643      489      502           3.5      2.8      2.9
  Education and health services.................    671      537      556           3.4      2.7      2.8
   Educational services.........................     65       35       46           2.0      1.1      1.4
   Health care and social assistance............    606      502      510           3.7      3.0      3.0
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    426      325      288           3.1      2.4      2.2
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     53       21       23           2.7      1.1      1.2
   Accommodation and food services.............     373      304      265           3.2      2.6      2.3
  Other services................................    158       87      105           2.8      1.6      1.9

 Government.....................................    429      283      339           1.8      1.3      1.5
  Federal.......................................     89       53       93           3.1      1.8      3.2
  State and local...............................    340      230      246           1.7      1.2      1.2

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    732      552      566           2.8      2.2      2.2
  South.........................................  1,342      958      945           2.6      2.0      1.9
  Midwest.......................................    755      583      570           2.4      1.9      1.9
  West..........................................    751      572      620           2.4      1.9      2.1


  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 7, 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                  Oct.     Sept.    Oct.          Oct.     Sept.    Oct.
                                                   2008     2009     2009p         2008     2009     2009p

Total...........................................  4,866    4,253    4,272           3.5      3.2      3.2

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  4,565    3,876    3,998           4.0      3.6      3.7
  Mining and Logging............................     32       17       20           3.9      2.4      2.8
  Construction..................................    373      323      338           5.1      5.1      5.4
  Manufacturing.................................    309      290      264           2.3      2.4      2.2
   Durable goods................................    171      136      124           2.1      1.9      1.7
   Nondurable goods.............................    138      154      140           2.8      3.3      3.0
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........  1,116      899      921           4.2      3.6      3.7
   Wholesale trade..............................    169      149      123           2.8      2.6      2.2
   Retail trade.................................    775      564      648           5.1      3.9      4.4
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    172      186      150           3.4      3.9      3.1
  Information...................................     87       54       64           2.9      1.9      2.3
  Financial activities..........................    217      151      216           2.7      2.0      2.8
   Finance and insurance........................    136       83      140           2.3      1.4      2.5
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     81       69       76           3.8      3.4      3.8
  Professional and business services............    867      706      789           4.9      4.2      4.7
  Education and health services.................    599      606      566           3.1      3.2      2.9
   Educational services.........................     78      112       81           2.4      3.7      2.5
   Health care and social assistance............    521      495      485           3.3      3.0      3.0
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    772      633      640           5.8      4.7      4.9
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     91       91       63           4.8      4.6      3.4
   Accommodation and food services.............     681      542      578           6.0      4.8      5.1
  Other services................................    194      195      181           3.5      3.6      3.4

 Government.....................................    300      377      275           1.3      1.7      1.2
  Federal.......................................     29       25       41           1.0       .9      1.4
  State and local...............................    272      352      234           1.3      1.8      1.2

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    803      777      797           3.1      3.1      3.2
  South.........................................  1,797    1,527    1,530           3.6      3.2      3.2
  Midwest.......................................  1,151      960      980           3.7      3.2      3.3
  West..........................................  1,115      990      964           3.6      3.4      3.3


  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 7, 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                  Oct.     Sept.    Oct.          Oct.     Sept.    Oct.
                                                   2008     2009     2009p         2008     2009     2009p

Total...........................................  5,251    4,379    4,468           3.8      3.3      3.4

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  5,012    4,030    4,238           4.4      3.7      3.9
  Mining and Logging............................     36       19       25           4.5      2.7      3.6
  Construction..................................    511      414      465           7.0      6.6      7.5
  Manufacturing.................................    453      289      344           3.4      2.4      2.9
   Durable goods................................    279      155      179           3.3      2.2      2.5
   Nondurable goods.............................    174      134      165           3.5      2.9      3.6
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........  1,054      854      842           4.0      3.4      3.3
   Wholesale trade..............................    187      142      121           3.1      2.5      2.1
   Retail trade.................................    683      543      564           4.5      3.7      3.8
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    185      170      157           3.6      3.6      3.3
  Information...................................     90       47       68           3.0      1.7      2.4
  Financial activities..........................    254      143      220           3.1      1.9      2.9
   Finance and insurance........................    150       74      139           2.5      1.3      2.4
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........    104       68       81           4.9      3.4      4.1
  Professional and business services............    963      717      776           5.4      4.3      4.6
  Education and health services.................    494      496      447           2.6      2.6      2.3
   Educational services.........................     60       68       47           1.9      2.3      1.5
   Health care and social assistance............    434      428      400           2.7      2.6      2.4
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    956      835      844           7.2      6.3      6.5
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........    173      176      152           9.0      9.0      8.2
   Accommodation and food services.............     783      658      692           6.9      5.8      6.2
  Other services................................    201      216      208           3.6      4.0      3.9

 Government.....................................    239      349      230           1.0      1.6      1.0
  Federal.......................................     18       23       24            .6       .8       .8
  State and local...............................    221      325      206           1.1      1.7      1.0

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    780      849      752           3.0      3.4      3.0
  South.........................................  1,869    1,448    1,614           3.8      3.1      3.4
  Midwest.......................................  1,252    1,030      992           4.0      3.5      3.3
  West..........................................  1,349    1,051    1,110           4.4      3.6      3.8


  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 7, 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                  Oct.     Sept.    Oct.          Oct.     Sept.    Oct.
                                                   2008     2009     2009p         2008     2009     2009p

Total...........................................  2,626    1,925    1,907           1.9      1.5      1.4

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  2,517    1,815    1,819           2.2      1.7      1.7
  Mining and Logging............................     21        6        7           2.7       .8      1.0
  Construction..................................    133       92       83           1.8      1.5      1.3
  Manufacturing.................................    166      100       91           1.2       .8       .8
   Durable goods................................     98       46       36           1.2       .6       .5
   Nondurable goods.............................     68       54       55           1.4      1.2      1.2
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    581      470      398           2.2      1.9      1.6
   Wholesale trade..............................     84       55       38           1.4      1.0       .7
   Retail trade.................................    401      358      290           2.6      2.4      2.0
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     96       57       69           1.9      1.2      1.4
  Information...................................     33       29       34           1.1      1.0      1.2
  Financial activities..........................    134       63      102           1.7       .8      1.3
   Finance and insurance........................     89       34       70           1.5       .6      1.2
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     45       30       32           2.1      1.5      1.6
  Professional and business services............    467      275      318           2.6      1.6      1.9
  Education and health services.................    298      281      276           1.6      1.5      1.4
   Educational services.........................     28       31       25            .9      1.0       .8
   Health care and social assistance............    270      250      251           1.7      1.5      1.5
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    585      403      418           4.4      3.0      3.2
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     46       25       40           2.4      1.3      2.1
   Accommodation and food services.............     539      378      379           4.7      3.3      3.4
  Other services................................     98       95       92           1.8      1.8      1.7

 Government.....................................    109      110       88            .5       .5       .4
  Federal.......................................      4        7        3            .2       .3       .1
  State and local...............................    104      103       85            .5       .5       .4

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    367      342      317           1.4      1.4      1.3
  South.........................................  1,030      689      756           2.1      1.5      1.6
  Midwest.......................................    652      451      420           2.1      1.5      1.4
  West..........................................    577      443      413           1.9      1.5      1.4


  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 7, 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                  Oct.     Sept.    Oct.          Oct.     Sept.    Oct.
                                                   2008     2009     2009p         2008     2009     2009p

Total...........................................  2,295    2,145    2,234           1.7      1.6      1.7

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  2,208    1,959    2,141           1.9      1.8      2.0
  Mining and Logging............................     12       12       17           1.5      1.6      2.4
  Construction..................................    353      315      374           4.8      5.0      6.0
  Manufacturing.................................    253      172      233           1.9      1.5      2.0
   Durable goods................................    157       99      132           1.9      1.4      1.8
   Nondurable goods.............................     96       73      100           1.9      1.6      2.2
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    403      300      348           1.5      1.2      1.4
   Wholesale trade..............................     93       63       61           1.6      1.1      1.1
   Retail trade.................................    239      138      219           1.6       .9      1.5
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     71       99       67           1.4      2.1      1.4
  Information...................................     54       13       24           1.8       .4       .8
  Financial activities..........................     93       62       95           1.2       .8      1.2
   Finance and insurance........................     41       25       51            .7       .4       .9
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     53       37       45           2.5      1.9      2.2
  Professional and business services............    442      394      414           2.5      2.4      2.5
  Education and health services.................    147      173      146            .8       .9       .7
   Educational services.........................     27       31       21            .8      1.0       .7
   Health care and social assistance............    120      143      125            .8       .9       .8
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    354      401      398           2.7      3.0      3.0
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........    126      149      104           6.6      7.6      5.7
   Accommodation and food services.............     229      252      293           2.0      2.2      2.6
  Other services................................     96      118       92           1.7      2.2      1.7

 Government.....................................     88      186       94            .4       .8       .4
  Federal.......................................      8        7        8            .3       .3       .3
  State and local...............................     79      178       85            .4       .9       .4

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    346      463      376           1.3      1.9      1.5
  South.........................................    711      653      765           1.4      1.4      1.6
  Midwest.......................................    528      511      503           1.7      1.7      1.7
  West..........................................    709      517      590           2.3      1.8      2.0


  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 7, 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                  Oct.     Sept.    Oct.          Oct.     Sept.    Oct.
                                                   2008     2009     2009p         2008     2009     2009p

Total...........................................    331      309      327           0.2      0.2      0.2

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................    288      256      278            .3       .2       .3
  Mining and Logging............................      2        2        1            .3       .2       .2
  Construction..................................     25        7        8            .3       .1       .1
  Manufacturing.................................     34       17       20            .3       .1       .2
   Durable goods................................     24       10       10            .3       .1       .1
   Nondurable goods.............................     10        7       10            .2       .1       .2
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........     71       84       96            .3       .3       .4
   Wholesale trade..............................      9       23       22            .2       .4       .4
   Retail trade.................................     43       47       54            .3       .3       .4
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     18       14       21            .4       .3       .4
  Information...................................      4        5        9            .1       .2       .3
  Financial activities..........................     27       18       23            .3       .2       .3
   Finance and insurance........................     21       16       19            .3       .3       .3
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........      6        2        4            .3       .1       .2
  Professional and business services............     53       48       44            .3       .3       .3
  Education and health services.................     49       41       25            .3       .2       .1
   Educational services.........................      5        7        1            .2       .2      (4)
   Health care and social assistance............     44       35       24            .3       .2       .1
  Leisure and hospitality.......................     17       31       28            .1       .2       .2
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........      1        3        8            .1       .1       .4
   Accommodation and food services.............      15       28       20            .1       .2       .2
  Other services................................      7        2       24            .1      (4)       .4

 Government.....................................     42       53       49            .2       .2       .2
  Federal.......................................      5        9       13            .2       .3       .5
  State and local...............................     37       44       36            .2       .2       .2

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................     67       44       58            .3       .2       .2
  South.........................................    129      106       93            .3       .2       .2
  Midwest.......................................     72       68       69            .2       .2       .2
  West..........................................     62       91      106            .2       .3       .4


  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 7, table 1.
  4 Data round to zero.
  p = preliminary.


Last Modified Date: December 08, 2009