For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Monday, August 10, 2020	USDL-20-1550

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 – JUNE 2020

The number of job openings increased to 5.9 million on the last business day of June, the U.S. Bureau of 
Labor Statistics reported today. Hires decreased to 6.7 million in June, but was still the second highest 
level in the series history. The largest monthly increase in hires occurred in May 2020. Total separations 
increased to 4.8 million. Within separations, the quits rate rose to 1.9 percent while the layoffs and 
discharges rate was unchanged at 1.4 percent. These changes in the labor market reflected a limited 
resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus 
(COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. This release includes estimates of the number and rate 
of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by four geographic 
regions.

Job Openings

On the last business day of June, the number of job openings increased to 5.9 million (+518,000) while 
the rate was little changed at 4.1 percent. Job openings rose in a number of industries with the largest 
increases in accommodation and food services (+198,000), other services (+69,000), and arts, 
entertainment, and recreation (+34,000). Job openings decreased in construction (-70,000) and in state 
and local government education (-26,000). The number of job openings increased in the Northeast and 
Midwest regions. (See table 1.)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
|               Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on June 2020 JOLTS Data                  |
|                                                                                               |
|Data collection for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey was affected by the coronavirus |
|(COVID-19) pandemic. More information is available at the end of this news release and         |
|www.bls.gov/covid19/job-openings-and-labor-turnover-covid19-june-2020.htm                      |
|_______________________________________________________________________________________________|

Hires

In June, the number of hires decreased to 6.7 million (-503,000), the second highest level in series 
history, the series high occurred in May 2020. The June hires rate decreased to 4.9 percent. Hires 
decreased in a number of industries, with the largest fall in other services (-326,000), followed by health 
care and social assistance (-282,000), and construction (-181,000). Hires increased in professional and 
business services (+255,000), accommodation and food services (+78,000), and state and local 
government, excluding education (+30,000). The number of hires decreased in the West region. (See 
table 2.)

Separations

Total separations includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Total separations is 
referred to as turnover. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, 
the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and 
discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations includes separations 
due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm.

In June, the number and rate of total separations increased to 4.8 million (+522,000) and 3.5 percent, 
respectively. A year ago, total separations levels and rates were higher at 5.6 million and 3.7 percent in 
June 2019. Total separations increased in many industries in June 2020 with the largest increases in 
accommodation and food services (+175,000), retail trade (+103,000), and durable goods manufacturing 
(+58,000). The number of total separations decreased in state and local government education (-59,000) 
and federal government (-12,000). Total separations increased in the Northeast and West regions. (See 
table 3.)

In June, the number and rate of quits increased to 2.6 million (+531,000) and 1.9 percent, respectively. 
Quits increased in a number of industries with the largest increases in health care and social assistance 
(+106,000), accommodation and food services (+104,000), and retail trade (+99,000). Quits decreased in 
state and local government education (-40,000). The number of quits increased in all four regions. (See 
table 4.)

The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed at 1.9 million and the rate was unchanged at 
1.4 percent in June. The rate, which had reached a series high of 7.6 percent in March, declined to 1.4 
percent in May, and remains near its pre-pandemic rate of 1.2 percent in February. In June, the layoffs 
and discharges level decreased in health care and social assistance (-71,000), state and local government, 
excluding education (-24,000), and federal government (-10,000). Layoffs and discharges increased in 
accommodation and food services (+70,000) and durable goods manufacturing (+38,000). The number 
of layoffs and discharges was little changed in all four regions. (See table 5.)

The number of other separations was little changed in June. Other separations increased in retail trade 
(+23,000) and arts, entertainment, and recreation (+3,000). Other separations decreased in state and 
local government education (-11,000) and educational services (-4,000). Other separations was little 
changed in all four regions. (See table 6.)

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 June, hires totaled 70.2 million and separations totaled 79.1 million, 
yielding a net employment loss of 8.9 million. These totals include workers who may have been hired 
and separated more than once during the year.
____________
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for July 2020 are scheduled to be 
released on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
|      Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on June 2020 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Data         |
|                                                                                                              |
|Data collection for the JOLTS survey was affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While 42 percent    |
|of data are usually collected by phone at the JOLTS data collection center, most phone respondents were       |
|asked to report electronically. However, data collection was adversely impacted due to the inability to       |
|reach some respondents that normally respond by phone. The JOLTS response rate for June was 47 percent,       |
|while response rates prior to the pandemic averaged 54 percent.                                               |
|                                                                                                              |
|BLS modified the JOLTS estimation methods starting in March and continuing through June to better reflect     |
|the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The estimation process usually includes an alignment of    |
|monthly hires minus separations to the over-the-month change in the Current Employment Statistics (CES)       |
|employment estimates. For June estimates, as in earlier months, BLS suspended the alignment process because   |
|the differing reference periods for the CES employment estimates (pay period including the 12th of the month) |
|and the JOLTS hires and separations estimates (the entire reference month) led to substantially different     |
|measurement outcomes. More information about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the JOLTS survey,         |
|including information about the JOLTS estimation methodology, is available at                                 |
|www.bls.gov/covid19/job-openings-and-labor-turnover-covid19-june-2020.htm.                                    |
|______________________________________________________________________________________________________________|