For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, March 17, 2020 USDL-20-0450
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 – JANUARY 2020
The number of job openings rose to 7.0 million (+411,000) on the last business day of January, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires and separations were little changed at
5.8 million and 5.6 million, respectively. Within separations, the quits rate was unchanged at 2.3 percent
and the layoffs and discharges rate was little changed at 1.1 percent. 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. The release also includes 2019 annual estimates for hires and separations.
The annual number of hires at 69.9 million and the annual number of quits at 42.1 million increased in
2019. The annual number of layoffs and discharges at 21.7 million edged down in 2019.
Job Openings
On the last business day of January, the job openings level rose to 7.0 million (+411,000), and the job
openings rate increased to 4.4 percent. Over the month, the number of job openings increased for total
private (+370,000) and edged up for government (+40,000). Job openings increased in finance and
insurance (+65,000), federal government (+38,000), and mining and logging (+8,000). The number of
job openings rose in the South region. (See table 1.)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
| Revisions to the JOLTS Estimates |
|Job openings, hires, and separations have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the |
|Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors. |
|See the revision section at the end of this release for more information. |
|________________________________________________________________________________________________|
Hires
In January, the number and rate of hires was little changed at 5.8 million and 3.8 percent, respectively.
The hires level was little changed in all industries. The number of hires decreased in the Midwest 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 January, the number and rate of total separations was little changed at 5.6 million and 3.7 percent,
respectively. The number of total separations decreased in federal government (-6,000). The total
separations level decreased in the West region. (See table 3.)
The number of quits was little changed in January at 3.5 million and the rate was unchanged at 2.3
percent. The quits level was little changed for total private but fell for government (-18,000). Quits
decreased in other services (-46,000), state and local government education (-12,000), and federal
government (-5,000). The quits level increased in real estate and rental and leasing (+14,000). The
number of quits was little changed in all four regions. (See table 4.)
The number of layoffs and discharges decreased in January to 1.7 million (-209,000) and the rate was
little changed at 1.1 percent. Layoffs and discharges decreased for total private (-214,000) but was little
changed for government. The layoffs and discharges level decreased in real estate and rental and leasing
(-15,000) and mining and logging (-9,000). The number of layoffs and discharges decreased in the South
region. (See table 5.)
The number of other separations increased in January (+58,000). Other separations increased for total
private (+61,000) but was little changed for government. The largest increases in other separations were
in health care and social assistance (+26,000) and transportation, warehousing, and utilities
(+9,000). The number of other separations increased in the South region. (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 January, hires totaled 70.0 million and separations totaled 67.9 million,
yielding a net employment gain of 2.1 million. These totals include workers who may have been hired
and separated more than once during the year.
Annual Levels and Rates
Consistent with BLS practice, annual estimates are published for not seasonally adjusted data and are
published with the January news release each year. Annual estimates are not calculated for job openings
because job openings are a stock, or point-in-time, measurement for the last business day of each month.
Calculating annual levels and rates allows additional comparisons across years. Annual levels for hires,
quits, layoffs and discharges, other separations, and total separations are the sum of the 12 published
monthly levels. Annual rates are computed by dividing the annual level by the Current Employment
Statistics (CES) annual average employment level, and multiplying that quotient by 100.
In 2019, there were 69.9 million hires, an increase of 1.3 million from 2018. Total separations (the sum
of quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations) rose by 1.7 million in 2019 to 67.9 million. Quits
rose for the tenth consecutive year reaching 42.1 million in 2019, up by 1.8 million. Quits comprised
62.1 percent of total separations. Layoffs and discharges edged down by 64,000 in 2019 to 21.7 million
and comprised 32 percent of total separations. Other separations edged down by 63,000 in 2019 to 4.0
million and comprised 5.9 percent of total separations. (See tables 13 through 22.)
The annual hires for 2019 was 46.3 percent of the annual average CES employment level. This rate has
been trending upwards since 2009. The annual total separations rate for 2019 was 45.0 percent. The
annual rates for the components of total separations were 27.9 percent for quits, 14.4 percent for layoffs
and discharges, and 2.7 percent for other separations.
____________
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for February 2020 are scheduled to be
released on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally adjusted
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Job openings | Hires | Total separations
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Category | Jan. | Dec. | Jan. | Jan. | Dec. | Jan. | Jan. | Dec. | Jan.
| 2019 | 2019 | 2020p| 2019 | 2019 | 2020p| 2019 | 2019 | 2020p
---------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | | | | |
LEVELS BY INDUSTRY | | | | | | | | |
(in thousands) | | | | | | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................|7,520 |6,552 |6,963 |5,834 |5,927 |5,824 |5,590 |5,762 |5,614
| | | | | | | | |
Total private...................|6,808 |5,838 |6,208 |5,443 |5,574 |5,460 |5,219 |5,419 |5,288
Mining and logging(1)..........| 31 | 13 | 21 | 33 | 25 | 19 | 30 | 31 | 23
Construction(1)................| 299 | 216 | 274 | 443 | 467 | 425 | 394 | 432 | 379
Manufacturing..................| 427 | 360 | 402 | 353 | 334 | 326 | 339 | 342 | 339
Durable goods(1)..............| 278 | 222 | 255 | 189 | 192 | 182 | 169 | 193 | 190
Nondurable goods(1)...........| 150 | 138 | 147 | 164 | 142 | 143 | 169 | 149 | 149
Trade, transportation, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities.................|1,429 |1,192 |1,237 |1,122 |1,161 |1,188 |1,087 |1,115 |1,179
Wholesale trade...............| 279 | 187 | 185 | 143 | 133 | 141 | 144 | 123 | 137
Retail trade..................| 808 | 762 | 769 | 722 | 772 | 787 | 726 | 741 | 790
Transportation, warehousing, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities(1).............| 342 | 244 | 283 | 257 | 256 | 259 | 217 | 250 | 251
Information(1).................| 147 | 146 | 166 | 89 | 87 | 83 | 101 | 84 | 78
Financial activities...........| 411 | 319 | 400 | 190 | 218 | 211 | 183 | 203 | 219
Finance and insurance.........| 285 | 235 | 300 | 108 | 135 | 140 | 112 | 134 | 146
Real estate and | | | | | | | | |
rental and leasing(1)........| 126 | 84 | 100 | 82 | 83 | 71 | 71 | 69 | 73
Professional and business | | | | | | | | |
services......................|1,386 |1,223 |1,252 |1,081 |1,151 |1,113 |1,071 |1,134 |1,086
Education and health | | | | | | | | |
services......................|1,379 |1,203 |1,296 | 756 | 723 | 751 | 715 | 690 | 697
Educational services(1).......| 129 | 106 | 126 | 110 | 104 | 107 | 95 | 97 | 84
Health care and social | | | | | | | | |
assistance...................|1,249 |1,097 |1,170 | 646 | 619 | 644 | 619 | 593 | 613
Leisure and hospitality........|1,125 | 916 | 892 |1,152 |1,165 |1,120 |1,088 |1,146 |1,086
Arts, entertainment, and | | | | | | | | |
recreation...................| 106 | 127 | 144 | 178 | 186 | 172 | 159 | 184 | 161
Accommodation and food | | | | | | | | |
services.....................|1,019 | 789 | 748 | 974 | 979 | 948 | 929 | 963 | 925
Other services.................| 174 | 250 | 268 | 223 | 243 | 225 | 211 | 242 | 202
Government......................| 712 | 715 | 755 | 391 | 352 | 364 | 371 | 343 | 327
Federal(1).....................| 139 | 88 | 126 | 34 | 43 | 48 | 33 | 45 | 39
State and local................| 573 | 626 | 629 | 357 | 309 | 315 | 337 | 298 | 288
State and local education.....| 218 | 234 | 235 | 179 | 153 | 154 | 163 | 164 | 152
State and local, excluding | | | | | | | | |
education(1).................| 355 | 393 | 395 | 178 | 156 | 162 | 175 | 134 | 136
|--------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | | | | |
RATES BY INDUSTRY | | | | | | | | |
(percent) | | | | | | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................| 4.8 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.7
| | | | | | | | |
Total private...................| 5.1 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.1
Mining and logging(1)..........| 4.0 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.2
Construction(1)................| 3.9 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 5.0
Manufacturing..................| 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.6
Durable goods(1)..............| 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 2.4
Nondurable goods(1)...........| 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.1
Trade, transportation, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities.................| 4.9 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.2
Wholesale trade...............| 4.5 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.3
Retail trade..................| 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 5.0
Transportation, warehousing, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities(1).............| 5.3 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0
Information(1).................| 4.9 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.7
Financial activities...........| 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.5
Finance and insurance.........| 4.3 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.3
Real estate and rental | | | | | | | | |
and leasing(1)...............| 5.2 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.1
Professional and business | | | | | | | | |
services......................| 6.2 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.0
Education and health | | | | | | | | |
services......................| 5.5 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.8
Educational services(1).......| 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.2
Health care and social | | | | | | | | |
assistance...................| 5.8 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.0
Leisure and hospitality.......| 6.4 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.8 | 6.5
Arts, entertainment, and | | | | | | | | |
recreation..................| 4.2 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 6.9 | 6.6 | 7.4 | 6.5
Accommodation and food | | | | | | | | |
services....................| 6.8 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 6.9 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 6.5
Other services................| 2.9 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.4
Government......................| 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.4
Federal(1).....................| 4.7 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.4
State and local................| 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.5
State and local education.....| 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.4
State and local, excluding | | | | | | | | |
education(1).................| 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) No regular seasonal movements could be identified in the job openings series, therefore,
the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data are identical.
(p) Preliminary
NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment
Statistics employment estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors.
Revisions to Job Openings and Labor Turnover Data
The JOLTS data are revised annually to reflect annual updates to the CES employment estimates. The
JOLTS employment levels (not published) are ratio-adjusted to the CES employment levels, and the
resulting ratios are applied to all JOLTS data elements. This annual benchmarking process results in
revisions to both the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted JOLTS data series, for the period
since the last benchmark was established. The seasonally adjusted data are recalculated for the most
recent 5 years in order to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors. Further, the alignment
methodology creates a dependency of the not seasonally adjusted estimates on the seasonal adjustment
process. Therefore, the data series that are not seasonally adjusted are also recalculated for the most
recent 5 years in order to reflect the effect of the updated seasonal adjustment factors on the alignment
process.
Tables B through G below present revised total nonfarm data for January through December 2019. The
December 2019 revisions also reflect the routine incorporation of additional sample receipts into the
final December estimates. Tables presenting revisions to total nonfarm data for January 2015 through
December 2019 will be available later today on the JOLTS website. The website also contains all
revised seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data. The revision tables and data can be
accessed through the JOLTS homepage at www.bls.gov/jlt/.
Table B. Revisions in job openings data January 2019 - December 2019,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
| published | | | published | |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2019 | | | | | |
January...| 7,625 | 7,520 | -105 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 0.0
February..| 7,142 | 7,048 | -94 | 4.5 | 4.5 | .0
March.....| 7,474 | 7,364 | -110 | 4.7 | 4.7 | .0
April.....| 7,372 | 7,284 | -88 | 4.7 | 4.6 | -.1
May.......| 7,384 | 7,300 | -84 | 4.7 | 4.6 | -.1
June......| 7,248 | 7,185 | -63 | 4.6 | 4.5 | -.1
July......| 7,174 | 7,236 | 62 | 4.5 | 4.6 | .1
August....| 7,301 | 7,166 | -135 | 4.6 | 4.5 | -.1
September.| 7,032 | 7,046 | 14 | 4.4 | 4.4 | .0
October...| 7,361 | 7,309 | -52 | 4.6 | 4.6 | .0
November..| 6,787 | 6,793 | 6 | 4.3 | 4.3 | .0
December..| 6,423 | 6,552 | 129 | 4.0 | 4.1 | .1
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
Table C. Revisions in hires data January 2019 - December 2019,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
| published | | | published | |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2019 | | | | | |
January...| 5,829 | 5,834 | 5 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 0.0
February..| 5,695 | 5,703 | 8 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .0
March.....| 5,697 | 5,689 | -8 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .0
April.....| 5,991 | 6,000 | 9 | 4.0 | 4.0 | .0
May.......| 5,760 | 5,687 | -73 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .0
June......| 5,716 | 5,760 | 44 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .0
July......| 5,978 | 5,975 | -3 | 3.9 | 4.0 | .1
August....| 5,884 | 5,839 | -45 | 3.9 | 3.9 | .0
September.| 5,951 | 5,959 | 8 | 3.9 | 3.9 | .0
October...| 5,782 | 5,757 | -25 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .0
November..| 5,827 | 5,857 | 30 | 3.8 | 3.9 | .1
December..| 5,907 | 5,927 | 20 | 3.9 | 3.9 | .0
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
Table D. Revisions in total separations data January 2019 - December 2019,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
| published | | | published | |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2019 | | | | | |
January...| 5,532 | 5,590 | 58 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 0.0
February..| 5,576 | 5,676 | 100 | 3.7 | 3.8 | .1
March.....| 5,508 | 5,553 | 45 | 3.7 | 3.7 | .0
April.....| 5,687 | 5,763 | 76 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .0
May.......| 5,557 | 5,547 | -10 | 3.7 | 3.7 | .0
June......| 5,513 | 5,568 | 55 | 3.6 | 3.7 | .1
July......| 5,810 | 5,769 | -41 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .0
August....| 5,732 | 5,660 | -72 | 3.8 | 3.7 | -.1
September.| 5,798 | 5,739 | -59 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .0
October...| 5,652 | 5,580 | -72 | 3.7 | 3.7 | .0
November..| 5,709 | 5,657 | -52 | 3.7 | 3.7 | .0
December..| 5,730 | 5,762 | 32 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .0
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
Table E. Revisions in quits data January 2019 - December 2019,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
| published | | | published | |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2019 | | | | | |
January...| 3,483 | 3,530 | 47 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 0.1
February..| 3,447 | 3,541 | 94 | 2.3 | 2.4 | .1
March.....| 3,461 | 3,525 | 64 | 2.3 | 2.3 | .0
April.....| 3,516 | 3,492 | -24 | 2.3 | 2.3 | .0
May.......| 3,478 | 3,486 | 8 | 2.3 | 2.3 | .0
June......| 3,462 | 3,481 | 19 | 2.3 | 2.3 | .0
July......| 3,668 | 3,612 | -56 | 2.4 | 2.4 | .0
August....| 3,601 | 3,544 | -57 | 2.4 | 2.3 | -.1
September.| 3,471 | 3,429 | -42 | 2.3 | 2.3 | .0
October...| 3,497 | 3,442 | -55 | 2.3 | 2.3 | .0
November..| 3,568 | 3,528 | -40 | 2.3 | 2.3 | .0
December..| 3,488 | 3,528 | 40 | 2.3 | 2.3 | .0
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
Table F. Revisions in layoffs and discharges data January 2019 - December 2019,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
| published | | | published | |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2019 | | | | | |
January...| 1,695 | 1,734 | 39 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.1
February..| 1,784 | 1,791 | 7 | 1.2 | 1.2 | .0
March.....| 1,693 | 1,698 | 5 | 1.1 | 1.1 | .0
April.....| 1,830 | 1,950 | 120 | 1.2 | 1.3 | .1
May.......| 1,773 | 1,764 | -9 | 1.2 | 1.2 | .0
June......| 1,711 | 1,763 | 52 | 1.1 | 1.2 | .1
July......| 1,788 | 1,812 | 24 | 1.2 | 1.2 | .0
August....| 1,812 | 1,792 | -20 | 1.2 | 1.2 | .0
September.| 1,971 | 1,962 | -9 | 1.3 | 1.3 | .0
October...| 1,795 | 1,778 | -17 | 1.2 | 1.2 | .0
November..| 1,768 | 1,769 | 1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | .0
December..| 1,895 | 1,893 | -2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | .0
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
Table G. Revisions in other separations data January 2019 - December 2019,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
| published | | | published | |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2019 | | | | | |
January...| 355 | 325 | -30 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0
February..| 346 | 344 | -2 | .2 | .2 | .0
March.....| 354 | 330 | -24 | .2 | .2 | .0
April.....| 341 | 321 | -20 | .2 | .2 | .0
May.......| 306 | 297 | -9 | .2 | .2 | .0
June......| 340 | 324 | -16 | .2 | .2 | .0
July......| 353 | 345 | -8 | .2 | .2 | .0
August....| 320 | 323 | 3 | .2 | .2 | .0
September.| 356 | 347 | -9 | .2 | .2 | .0
October...| 360 | 360 | 0 | .2 | .2 | .0
November..| 373 | 359 | -14 | .2 | .2 | .0
December..| 347 | 341 | -6 | .2 | .2 | .0
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
United States Department of Labor
