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Blanka M. Thibaud
thibaud.blanka@bls.gov

Blanka M. Thibaud is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Article

August 2017

Job openings, hires, and separations rise, but at a slower pace, in 2016

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), job openings and hires continued their upward climb in 2016, with job openings exceeding hires. Similarly, total separations rose, and quits surpassed prerecession levels.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) continued to trend upward, showing increased labor market activity, but at a slower pace in 2016 than in 2015. Job openings rose to their highest monthly level since the series began in December 2000, reaching 6.0 million in July 2016; the average number of job openings in 2016 was 5.6 million a month. Hires, with an annual level of 62.7 million, increased for the seventh year in a row, growing by 1.1 percent in 2016. In contrast with historical patterns, job openings exceeded hires each month in 2016. Total separations, with an annual level of 60.4 million, increased for the sixth year in a row, growing by 1.9 percent in 2016. Within separations, quits increased by 7.0 percent in 2016, contributing more to the rise in total separations than layoffs and discharges. The annual level of quits was 36.1 million in 2016, surpassing prerecession levels.

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

The JOLTS sample comprises about 16,000 nonfarm establishments from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. JOLTS data measure job openings, hires, total separations, quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations on a monthly basis. The survey provides estimates of labor demand and worker flows by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)^{^¹} select two-digit supersector and by the four major census regions.^{^²}

This article discusses JOLTS estimates for 2016, compares them with estimates for 2015, and analyzes how these measures have performed since the most recent recession.^{^³} JOLTS data from 2016 are first compared with JOLTS data from previous years by data element: job openings, hires, total separations, quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. JOLTS data are then analyzed and compared with other statistical series. Comparisons frequently include November 2007, the month before the most recent recession started, and June 2009, the last month of the most recent recession. Levels at or above 2007 values for procyclical data elements—job openings, hires, and quits—suggest the industry or region has recovered. Procyclical data elements generally increase during economic expansions and decline during economic contractions. Countercyclical series decline during expansions and increase during contractions. Levels at or below 2007 values for the countercyclical data elements—layoffs and discharges—suggest recovery as well.

Definitions of JOLTS terms^{^⁴}

Job openings

Job openings information is collected for the last business day of the reference month. A job opening requires that (1) a specific position exists and there is work available for that position, (2) work could start within 30 days whether or not the employer found a suitable candidate, and (3) the employer is actively recruiting from outside the establishment to fill the position. Included are full-time, part-time, permanent, short-term, and seasonal openings. Active recruiting means that the establishment is taking steps to fill a position by advertising in newspapers or on the Internet, posting help-wanted signs, accepting applications, or using other similar methods.

Jobs to be filled only by internal transfers, promotions, 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 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 the quotient by 100.

Hires

The hires level is the total number of additions to the payroll occurring at any time during the reference month, including both new and rehired employees; full-time, 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 after being on strike, employees of temporary help agencies or employee leasing companies, outside contractors, or consultants. The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.

Separations

The separations level is the total number of employment terminations occurring at any time during the reference month and is reported by type of separation: quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. (Some respondents are only able to report total separations.)

The quits count includes voluntary separations by employees (except for retirements, which are reported as other separations).

The layoffs and discharges count is made up of involuntary separations initiated by the employer and includes layoffs with no intent to rehire; formal layoffs lasting or expected to last more than 7 days; discharges resulting from mergers, downsizing, or closings; firings or other discharges for cause; terminations of permanent or short-term employees; and terminations of seasonal employees.

The other separations count includes retirements, transfers to other locations, deaths, and separations due to disability.

The separations count does not include transfers within the same location or employees on strike. The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying the resulting quotient by 100. The quits, layoffs and discharges, and “other separations” rates are computed similarly.

Job openings

Job openings is a procyclical measure of labor demand. During an economic expansion, employers demand more workers, and the number of job openings increases. By contrast, during an economic contraction, employers demand less labor, and the number of job openings decreases. Because job openings is a stock measure, JOLTS does not create job openings annual totals.^{^⁵} Instead, we use not seasonally adjusted data to calculate average monthly levels throughout the year.

In line with its procyclical nature, the level of job openings has increased since the end of the recession. Job openings reached a series high of 6.0 million in July 2016, indicating continued improvement on the demand side of the labor force. (See figure 1.) The 128.1-percent increase in job openings between June 2009 and December 2016 followed a 41.1-percent decline during the recession. Job openings was the first procyclical JOLTS measure to return to the prerecession level (4.2 million); this occurred in March 2014, and the data series has remained above that level since then. Average monthly levels of job openings have increased steadily each year since 2009, but the growth in 2016 slowed to 5.2 percent, compared with 17.6 percent in 2015.

⁠

Figure 1. Job openings, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted December 2000–December 2016
Month and year	Level (thousands)	Rate (percent)
Dec 2000	4,736	3.4
Jan 2001	5,385	3.9
Feb 2001	4,658	3.4
Mar 2001	4,563	3.3
Apr 2001	4,901	3.6
May 2001	4,550	3.3
Jun 2001	4,280	3.1
Jul 2001	4,499	3.3
Aug 2001	4,134	3.0
Sep 2001	3,975	2.9
Oct 2001	3,605	2.7
Nov 2001	3,387	2.5
Dec 2001	3,385	2.5
Jan 2002	3,759	2.8
Feb 2002	3,372	2.5
Mar 2002	3,551	2.6
Apr 2002	3,472	2.6
May 2002	3,596	2.7
Jun 2002	3,365	2.5
Jul 2002	3,411	2.5
Aug 2002	3,490	2.6
Sep 2002	3,308	2.5
Oct 2002	3,535	2.6
Nov 2002	3,415	2.5
Dec 2002	2,943	2.2
Jan 2003	3,824	2.8
Feb 2003	3,381	2.5
Mar 2003	3,052	2.3
Apr 2003	3,340	2.5
May 2003	3,233	2.4
Jun 2003	3,334	2.5
Jul 2003	3,270	2.4
Aug 2003	3,283	2.5
Sep 2003	3,074	2.3
Oct 2003	3,205	2.4
Nov 2003	3,157	2.4
Dec 2003	3,214	2.4
Jan 2004	3,459	2.6
Feb 2004	3,402	2.5
Mar 2004	3,380	2.5
Apr 2004	3,629	2.7
May 2004	3,660	2.7
Jun 2004	3,424	2.5
Jul 2004	3,934	2.9
Aug 2004	3,619	2.7
Sep 2004	3,742	2.8
Oct 2004	3,792	2.8
Nov 2004	3,238	2.4
Dec 2004	3,650	2.7
Jan 2005	3,670	2.7
Feb 2005	3,845	2.8
Mar 2005	3,831	2.8
Apr 2005	4,243	3.1
May 2005	3,884	2.8
Jun 2005	4,022	2.9
Jul 2005	4,319	3.1
Aug 2005	4,073	2.9
Sep 2005	4,237	3.1
Oct 2005	4,277	3.1
Nov 2005	4,220	3.0
Dec 2005	4,064	2.9
Jan 2006	4,298	3.1
Feb 2006	4,229	3.0
Mar 2006	4,493	3.2
Apr 2006	4,680	3.3
May 2006	4,389	3.1
Jun 2006	4,349	3.1
Jul 2006	4,154	3.0
Aug 2006	4,560	3.2
Sep 2006	4,516	3.2
Oct 2006	4,472	3.2
Nov 2006	4,341	3.1
Dec 2006	4,278	3.0
Jan 2007	4,630	3.3
Feb 2007	4,465	3.1
Mar 2007	4,666	3.3
Apr 2007	4,824	3.4
May 2007	4,550	3.2
Jun 2007	4,608	3.2
Jul 2007	4,490	3.1
Aug 2007	4,555	3.2
Sep 2007	4,523	3.2
Oct 2007	4,300	3.0
Nov 2007	4,156	2.9
Dec 2007	4,123	2.9
Jan 2008	4,260	3.0
Feb 2008	4,042	2.8
Mar 2008	4,001	2.8
Apr 2008	4,098	2.9
May 2008	3,960	2.8
Jun 2008	3,767	2.7
Jul 2008	3,821	2.7
Aug 2008	3,665	2.6
Sep 2008	3,264	2.3
Oct 2008	3,292	2.4
Nov 2008	2,956	2.1
Dec 2008	2,830	2.1
Jan 2009	2,767	2.0
Feb 2009	2,791	2.1
Mar 2009	2,491	1.8
Apr 2009	2,357	1.8
May 2009	2,427	1.8
Jun 2009	2,428	1.8
Jul 2009	2,196	1.7
Aug 2009	2,306	1.7
Sep 2009	2,478	1.9
Oct 2009	2,400	1.8
Nov 2009	2,350	1.8
Dec 2009	2,407	1.8
Jan 2010	2,636	2.0
Feb 2010	2,578	1.9
Mar 2010	2,666	2.0
Apr 2010	3,220	2.4
May 2010	2,891	2.2
Jun 2010	2,664	2.0
Jul 2010	2,965	2.2
Aug 2010	2,920	2.2
Sep 2010	2,767	2.1
Oct 2010	3,033	2.3
Nov 2010	2,914	2.2
Dec 2010	2,857	2.1
Jan 2011	2,939	2.2
Feb 2011	3,056	2.3
Mar 2011	3,130	2.3
Apr 2011	3,287	2.4
May 2011	3,114	2.3
Jun 2011	3,224	2.4
Jul 2011	3,475	2.6
Aug 2011	3,168	2.3
Sep 2011	3,495	2.6
Oct 2011	3,421	2.5
Nov 2011	3,153	2.3
Dec 2011	3,369	2.5
Jan 2012	3,725	2.7
Feb 2012	3,500	2.6
Mar 2012	3,831	2.8
Apr 2012	3,643	2.6
May 2012	3,694	2.7
Jun 2012	3,799	2.8
Jul 2012	3,694	2.7
Aug 2012	3,683	2.7
Sep 2012	3,521	2.6
Oct 2012	3,708	2.7
Nov 2012	3,521	2.5
Dec 2012	3,570	2.6
Jan 2013	3,790	2.7
Feb 2013	3,974	2.8
Mar 2013	3,872	2.8
Apr 2013	3,951	2.8
May 2013	3,873	2.8
Jun 2013	3,924	2.8
Jul 2013	3,896	2.8
Aug 2013	3,968	2.8
Sep 2013	3,959	2.8
Oct 2013	4,105	2.9
Nov 2013	3,837	2.7
Dec 2013	3,742	2.7
Jan 2014	3,980	2.8
Feb 2014	4,101	2.9
Mar 2014	4,167	2.9
Apr 2014	4,569	3.2
May 2014	4,594	3.2
Jun 2014	4,680	3.3
Jul 2014	4,648	3.2
Aug 2014	5,026	3.5
Sep 2014	4,625	3.2
Oct 2014	4,906	3.4
Nov 2014	4,684	3.2
Dec 2014	4,795	3.3
Jan 2015	5,104	3.5
Feb 2015	5,124	3.5
Mar 2015	5,125	3.5
Apr 2015	5,632	3.8
May 2015	5,421	3.7
Jun 2015	5,189	3.5
Jul 2015	5,891	4.0
Aug 2015	5,445	3.7
Sep 2015	5,414	3.7
Oct 2015	5,484	3.7
Nov 2015	5,221	3.5
Dec 2015	5,374	3.6
Jan 2016	5,713	3.8
Feb 2016	5,566	3.7
Mar 2016	5,852	3.9
Apr 2016	5,643	3.8
May 2016	5,582	3.7
Jun 2016	5,535	3.7
Jul 2016	5,973	4.0
Aug 2016	5,491	3.7
Sep 2016	5,666	3.8
Oct 2016	5,587	3.7
Nov 2016	5,631	3.7
Dec 2016	5,539	3.7
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job openings by industry and region

At the industry level, the largest increases in average monthly job openings from 2015 to 2016 were in construction (32.0 percent); arts, entertainment, and recreation (26.7 percent); nondurable goods manufacturing (21.6 percent); federal government (21.6 percent); other services (18.8 percent); wholesale trade (14.1 percent); and retail trade (11.5 percent). Mining and logging and information experienced the largest decreases in job openings, 24.4 percent and 22.3 percent, respectively. In the regions, job openings increases ranged from 1.5 percent in the South to 8.3 percent in the West. (See table 1.)

Table 1. Average monthly job openings, by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, 2015 and 2016
Industry and region	Level (in thousands)		Change, 2015–16
Industry and region	2015	2016	Level (in thousands)	Percent
Total nonfarm	5,370	5,649	279	5.2
Total private	4,869	5,130	261	5.4
Mining and logging	16	12	-4	-24.4
Construction	144	190	46	32
Manufacturing	314	342	28	8.8
Durable goods	191	192	1	0.4
Nondurable goods	123	150	27	21.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	936	1,005	69	7.3
Wholesale trade	161	184	23	14.1
Retail trade	557	620	63	11.4
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	218	200	-17	-8
Information	109	84	-24	-22.3
Financial activities	329	327	-2	-0.6
Finance and insurance	254	250	-4	-1.6
Real estate and rental and leasing	75	77	2	2.8
Professional and business services	1,090	1,109	18	1.7
Education and health services	1,021	1,098	78	7.6
Educational services	102	99	-3	-2.7
Health care and social assistance	919	1,000	80	8.7
Leisure and hospitality	731	751	20	2.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	67	85	18	26.7
Accommodation and food services	664	666	2	0.3
Other services	178	212	33	18.8
Government	501	519	18	3.6
Federal	75	91	16	21.6
State and local	426	428	2	0.4
State and local education	153	147	-6	-4.1
State and local, excluding education	273	281	8	3.1
Northeast	874	940	66	7.6
South	2,062	2,092	30	1.5
Midwest	1,199	1,278	79	6.6
West	1,236	1,339	103	8.3
Notes: Average monthly job openings are the number of job openings on the last business day of the month. Details may not sum to totals because of rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Hires

Like job openings, hires is a procyclical measure whose level has increased each year since the end of the recession. Like the growth of openings, growth in hires slowed in 2016. (See figure 2.) Hires began dropping before the recession and continued to decline during the recession. Increases during the recovery caused the 2016 level to be about the same as the level before the decline began. In 2016, the number of hires surpassed the November 2007 level (5.2 million) and was at or above that level in 9 out of 12 months.

⁠

Figure 2. Hires, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted, December 2000–December 2016
Month and year	Level (thousands)	Rate (percent)
Dec 2000	5,482	4.1
Jan 2001	5,777	4.4
Feb 2001	5,520	4.2
Mar 2001	5,650	4.3
Apr 2001	5,337	4.0
May 2001	5,395	4.1
Jun 2001	5,061	3.8
Jul 2001	5,164	3.9
Aug 2001	5,041	3.8
Sep 2001	4,941	3.7
Oct 2001	5,033	3.8
Nov 2001	4,902	3.7
Dec 2001	4,767	3.6
Jan 2002	4,849	3.7
Feb 2002	4,900	3.7
Mar 2002	4,644	3.6
Apr 2002	4,940	3.8
May 2002	4,959	3.8
Jun 2002	4,824	3.7
Jul 2002	5,005	3.8
Aug 2002	4,851	3.7
Sep 2002	4,848	3.7
Oct 2002	4,806	3.7
Nov 2002	4,918	3.8
Dec 2002	4,925	3.8
Jan 2003	4,971	3.8
Feb 2003	4,713	3.6
Mar 2003	4,433	3.4
Apr 2003	4,688	3.6
May 2003	4,613	3.5
Jun 2003	4,755	3.7
Jul 2003	4,714	3.6
Aug 2003	4,653	3.6
Sep 2003	4,873	3.7
Oct 2003	4,897	3.8
Nov 2003	4,717	3.6
Dec 2003	5,000	3.8
Jan 2004	4,827	3.7
Feb 2004	4,700	3.6
Mar 2004	5,219	4.0
Apr 2004	5,115	3.9
May 2004	4,939	3.7
Jun 2004	4,948	3.8
Jul 2004	4,880	3.7
Aug 2004	5,091	3.9
Sep 2004	4,985	3.8
Oct 2004	5,092	3.8
Nov 2004	5,180	3.9
Dec 2004	5,246	4.0
Jan 2005	5,207	3.9
Feb 2005	5,273	4.0
Mar 2005	5,216	3.9
Apr 2005	5,270	3.9
May 2005	5,298	4.0
Jun 2005	5,332	4.0
Jul 2005	5,275	3.9
Aug 2005	5,410	4.0
Sep 2005	5,427	4.0
Oct 2005	4,988	3.7
Nov 2005	5,308	3.9
Dec 2005	5,103	3.8
Jan 2006	5,196	3.8
Feb 2006	5,329	3.9
Mar 2006	5,372	3.9
Apr 2006	5,113	3.8
May 2006	5,489	4.0
Jun 2006	5,278	3.9
Jul 2006	5,372	3.9
Aug 2006	5,208	3.8
Sep 2006	5,214	3.8
Oct 2006	5,179	3.8
Nov 2006	5,528	4.0
Dec 2006	5,223	3.8
Jan 2007	5,245	3.8
Feb 2007	5,202	3.8
Mar 2007	5,380	3.9
Apr 2007	5,158	3.7
May 2007	5,268	3.8
Jun 2007	5,187	3.8
Jul 2007	5,075	3.7
Aug 2007	5,106	3.7
Sep 2007	5,145	3.7
Oct 2007	5,227	3.8
Nov 2007	5,162	3.7
Dec 2007	4,968	3.6
Jan 2008	4,868	3.5
Feb 2008	4,943	3.6
Mar 2008	4,766	3.4
Apr 2008	4,875	3.5
May 2008	4,602	3.3
Jun 2008	4,751	3.5
Jul 2008	4,471	3.3
Aug 2008	4,522	3.3
Sep 2008	4,316	3.2
Oct 2008	4,454	3.3
Nov 2008	3,954	2.9
Dec 2008	4,218	3.1
Jan 2009	4,158	3.1
Feb 2009	4,011	3.0
Mar 2009	3,730	2.8
Apr 2009	3,853	2.9
May 2009	3,793	2.9
Jun 2009	3,675	2.8
Jul 2009	3,854	2.9
Aug 2009	3,744	2.9
Sep 2009	3,859	3.0
Oct 2009	3,767	2.9
Nov 2009	3,992	3.1
Dec 2009	3,806	2.9
Jan 2010	3,880	3.0
Feb 2010	3,781	2.9
Mar 2010	4,182	3.2
Apr 2010	4,082	3.1
May 2010	4,376	3.3
Jun 2010	4,064	3.1
Jul 2010	4,116	3.2
Aug 2010	3,910	3.0
Sep 2010	3,978	3.1
Oct 2010	4,061	3.1
Nov 2010	4,101	3.1
Dec 2010	4,155	3.2
Jan 2011	3,910	3.0
Feb 2011	4,061	3.1
Mar 2011	4,291	3.3
Apr 2011	4,218	3.2
May 2011	4,116	3.1
Jun 2011	4,297	3.3
Jul 2011	4,139	3.1
Aug 2011	4,168	3.2
Sep 2011	4,320	3.3
Oct 2011	4,239	3.2
Nov 2011	4,244	3.2
Dec 2011	4,234	3.2
Jan 2012	4,292	3.2
Feb 2012	4,419	3.3
Mar 2012	4,465	3.3
Apr 2012	4,299	3.2
May 2012	4,445	3.3
Jun 2012	4,432	3.3
Jul 2012	4,269	3.2
Aug 2012	4,447	3.3
Sep 2012	4,238	3.2
Oct 2012	4,299	3.2
Nov 2012	4,393	3.3
Dec 2012	4,360	3.2
Jan 2013	4,422	3.3
Feb 2013	4,509	3.3
Mar 2013	4,293	3.2
Apr 2013	4,533	3.3
May 2013	4,572	3.4
Jun 2013	4,409	3.2
Jul 2013	4,529	3.3
Aug 2013	4,732	3.5
Sep 2013	4,681	3.4
Oct 2013	4,444	3.2
Nov 2013	4,588	3.3
Dec 2013	4,500	3.3
Jan 2014	4,615	3.4
Feb 2014	4,627	3.4
Mar 2014	4,758	3.4
Apr 2014	4,812	3.5
May 2014	4,796	3.5
Jun 2014	4,817	3.5
Jul 2014	5,001	3.6
Aug 2014	4,839	3.5
Sep 2014	5,078	3.6
Oct 2014	5,118	3.7
Nov 2014	5,027	3.6
Dec 2014	5,165	3.7
Jan 2015	5,027	3.6
Feb 2015	4,991	3.5
Mar 2015	5,090	3.6
Apr 2015	5,095	3.6
May 2015	5,143	3.6
Jun 2015	5,162	3.6
Jul 2015	5,136	3.6
Aug 2015	5,129	3.6
Sep 2015	5,150	3.6
Oct 2015	5,304	3.7
Nov 2015	5,323	3.7
Dec 2015	5,504	3.8
Jan 2016	5,117	3.6
Feb 2016	5,447	3.8
Mar 2016	5,297	3.7
Apr 2016	5,038	3.5
May 2016	5,153	3.6
Jun 2016	5,176	3.6
Jul 2016	5,328	3.7
Aug 2016	5,288	3.7
Sep 2016	5,179	3.6
Oct 2016	5,200	3.6
Nov 2016	5,263	3.6
Dec 2016	5,303	3.6
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The count of hires is a flow measure, so the monthly hires (not seasonally adjusted) can be accumulated to create an annual total. In 2016, annual hires rose for the seventh consecutive year, reaching 62.7 million (43.5 percent of annual employment), an increase of 1.0 percent over the 2015 annual hires of 62.1 million. This growth showed a slower increase compared with the more robust 2015, when hires increased by 5.8 percent. (See figure 3.)

⁠

Figure 3. Annual hires, total nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted, 2007–16
Year	Level (thousands)
2006	63,491
2007	62,239
2008	54,764
2009	46,190
2010	48,659
2011	50,253
2012	52,332
2013	54,320
2014	58,657
2015	62,050
2016	62,719
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Hires by industry and region

In 2016, the growth in hires varied by industry—13 out of 19 industries had more hires than in 2015. The largest increases in annual hires levels from 2015 to 2016 were in state and local government, excluding education (6.1 percent), professional and business services (4.9 percent), and state and local government education (4.1 percent). Annual hires levels from 2015 to 2016 dropped in five industries, with the largest declines occurring in other services (−11.5 percent), finance and insurance (−4.2 percent), and retail trade (−4.1 percent). Growth in hires in the four census regions varied from a 0.9-percent decline in the South to a 2.9-percent increase in the Northeast. (See table 2.)

Table 2. Annual hires, by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, 2015 and 2016
Industry and region	Level (in thousands)		Change, 2015–16
Industry and region	2015	2016	Level (in thousands)	Percent
Total nonfarm	62,050	62,719	669	1.1
Total private	57,909	58,385	476	0.8
Mining and logging	299	299	0	0.0
Construction	3,931	3,953	22	0.6
Manufacturing	3,214	3,314	100	3.1
Durable goods	1,876	1,934	58	3.1
Nondurable goods	1,334	1,381	47	3.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	13,012	12,667	-345	-2.7
Wholesale trade	1,662	1,686	24	1.4
Retail trade	9,026	8,660	-366	-4.1
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	2,328	2,320	-8	-0.3
Information	952	919	-33	-3.5
Financial activities	2,366	2,316	-50	-2.1
Finance and insurance	1,586	1,519	-67	-4.2
Real estate and rental and leasing	779	795	16	2.1
Professional and business services	12,590	13,209	619	4.9
Education and health services	7,434	7,599	165	2.2
Educational services	1,062	1,093	31	2.9
Health care and social assistance	6,373	6,505	132	2.1
Leisure and hospitality	11,624	11,912	288	2.5
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	1,811	1,833	22	1.2
Accommodation and food services	9,813	10,078	265	2.7
Other services	2,488	2,201	-287	-11.5
Government	4,139	4,335	196	4.7
Federal	487	496	9	1.8
State and local	3,650	3,840	190	5.2
State and local education	1,813	1,888	75	4.1
State and local, excluding education	1,838	1,951	113	6.1
Northeast	9,752	10,034	282	2.9
South	24,334	24,127	-207	-0.9
Midwest	13,847	14,115	268	1.9
West	14,116	14,446	330	2.3
Notes: Annual hires are the total number of hires over the entire month for each month during the year. Details may not sum to totals because of rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Total separations

Total separations, which includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations, have increased slowly since the end of the recession. (See figure 4.) After decreasing by 14.9 percent during the recession, total separations increased by 21.3 percent from June 2009 to December 2016. Total separations were at or near their November 2007 level (5.0 million) throughout 2016 and exceeded that level in 8 out of 12 months of the year. Like hires, total separations is a flow measure so we can calculate annual totals by using not seasonally adjusted data. The annual level of total separations has increased each year since 2010. (See figure 5.) The annual level of total separations in 2016 was 60.4 million (41.9 percent of annual employment), an increase of 1.9 percent over the 2015 annual level of 59.3 million. (See table 3.)

⁠

Figure 4. Total separations, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted, December 2000–December 2016
Month and year	Level (thousands)	Rate (percent)
Dec 2000	5,235	3.9
Jan 2001	6,066	4.6
Feb 2001	5,383	4.1
Mar 2001	5,655	4.3
Apr 2001	5,545	4.2
May 2001	5,439	4.1
Jun 2001	5,252	4.0
Jul 2001	5,303	4.0
Aug 2001	5,142	3.9
Sep 2001	5,169	3.9
Oct 2001	5,501	4.2
Nov 2001	5,053	3.9
Dec 2001	4,783	3.7
Jan 2002	5,202	4.0
Feb 2002	4,953	3.8
Mar 2002	4,609	3.5
Apr 2002	5,027	3.8
May 2002	4,979	3.8
Jun 2002	4,793	3.7
Jul 2002	5,119	3.9
Aug 2002	4,860	3.7
Sep 2002	4,890	3.7
Oct 2002	4,805	3.7
Nov 2002	4,761	3.6
Dec 2002	4,918	3.8
Jan 2003	5,015	3.8
Feb 2003	4,779	3.7
Mar 2003	4,586	3.5
Apr 2003	4,781	3.7
May 2003	4,671	3.6
Jun 2003	4,783	3.7
Jul 2003	4,750	3.6
Aug 2003	4,747	3.6
Sep 2003	4,752	3.6
Oct 2003	4,789	3.7
Nov 2003	4,611	3.5
Dec 2003	4,732	3.6
Jan 2004	4,795	3.7
Feb 2004	4,571	3.5
Mar 2004	4,874	3.7
Apr 2004	4,900	3.7
May 2004	4,654	3.5
Jun 2004	4,881	3.7
Jul 2004	4,885	3.7
Aug 2004	4,985	3.8
Sep 2004	4,807	3.6
Oct 2004	4,781	3.6
Nov 2004	5,098	3.8
Dec 2004	4,991	3.8
Jan 2005	5,177	3.9
Feb 2005	5,006	3.8
Mar 2005	5,071	3.8
Apr 2005	4,970	3.7
May 2005	5,105	3.8
Jun 2005	5,074	3.8
Jul 2005	4,917	3.7
Aug 2005	5,220	3.9
Sep 2005	5,305	3.9
Oct 2005	4,960	3.7
Nov 2005	4,949	3.7
Dec 2005	4,945	3.7
Jan 2006	5,043	3.7
Feb 2006	4,983	3.7
Mar 2006	5,037	3.7
Apr 2006	5,012	3.7
May 2006	5,417	4.0
Jun 2006	5,136	3.8
Jul 2006	5,183	3.8
Aug 2006	5,001	3.7
Sep 2006	5,007	3.7
Oct 2006	5,171	3.8
Nov 2006	5,291	3.9
Dec 2006	5,108	3.7
Jan 2007	5,144	3.7
Feb 2007	5,094	3.7
Mar 2007	5,123	3.7
Apr 2007	5,138	3.7
May 2007	5,080	3.7
Jun 2007	5,065	3.7
Jul 2007	5,118	3.7
Aug 2007	5,105	3.7
Sep 2007	5,031	3.6
Oct 2007	5,129	3.7
Nov 2007	5,031	3.6
Dec 2007	4,926	3.6
Jan 2008	5,005	3.6
Feb 2008	5,010	3.6
Mar 2008	4,762	3.4
Apr 2008	5,121	3.7
May 2008	4,728	3.4
Jun 2008	4,900	3.6
Jul 2008	4,713	3.4
Aug 2008	4,815	3.5
Sep 2008	4,751	3.5
Oct 2008	4,895	3.6
Nov 2008	4,605	3.4
Dec 2008	4,814	3.6
Jan 2009	4,974	3.7
Feb 2009	4,674	3.5
Mar 2009	4,536	3.4
Apr 2009	4,655	3.5
May 2009	4,146	3.2
Jun 2009	4,192	3.2
Jul 2009	4,297	3.3
Aug 2009	4,060	3.1
Sep 2009	4,084	3.1
Oct 2009	3,951	3.0
Nov 2009	3,873	3.0
Dec 2009	3,989	3.1
Jan 2010	3,894	3.0
Feb 2010	3,830	3.0
Mar 2010	3,949	3.0
Apr 2010	3,892	3.0
May 2010	3,831	2.9
Jun 2010	4,223	3.2
Jul 2010	4,278	3.3
Aug 2010	4,009	3.1
Sep 2010	4,026	3.1
Oct 2010	3,784	2.9
Nov 2010	3,843	2.9
Dec 2010	4,026	3.1
Jan 2011	3,908	3.0
Feb 2011	3,838	2.9
Mar 2011	3,980	3.0
Apr 2011	3,924	3.0
May 2011	4,035	3.1
Jun 2011	4,094	3.1
Jul 2011	4,082	3.1
Aug 2011	4,120	3.1
Sep 2011	4,115	3.1
Oct 2011	4,011	3.0
Nov 2011	4,001	3.0
Dec 2011	3,994	3.0
Jan 2012	4,010	3.0
Feb 2012	4,175	3.1
Mar 2012	4,134	3.1
Apr 2012	4,260	3.2
May 2012	4,336	3.2
Jun 2012	4,367	3.3
Jul 2012	4,138	3.1
Aug 2012	4,360	3.2
Sep 2012	4,059	3.0
Oct 2012	4,194	3.1
Nov 2012	4,171	3.1
Dec 2012	4,038	3.0
Jan 2013	4,297	3.2
Feb 2013	4,156	3.1
Mar 2013	4,113	3.0
Apr 2013	4,376	3.2
May 2013	4,363	3.2
Jun 2013	4,267	3.1
Jul 2013	4,384	3.2
Aug 2013	4,517	3.3
Sep 2013	4,537	3.3
Oct 2013	4,288	3.1
Nov 2013	4,268	3.1
Dec 2013	4,335	3.2
Jan 2014	4,443	3.2
Feb 2014	4,436	3.2
Mar 2014	4,452	3.2
Apr 2014	4,518	3.3
May 2014	4,565	3.3
Jun 2014	4,552	3.3
Jul 2014	4,784	3.4
Aug 2014	4,627	3.3
Sep 2014	4,882	3.5
Oct 2014	4,927	3.5
Nov 2014	4,633	3.3
Dec 2014	4,789	3.4
Jan 2015	4,843	3.4
Feb 2015	4,705	3.3
Mar 2015	4,986	3.5
Apr 2015	4,906	3.5
May 2015	4,812	3.4
Jun 2015	5,011	3.5
Jul 2015	4,849	3.4
Aug 2015	4,958	3.5
Sep 2015	5,067	3.6
Oct 2015	4,983	3.5
Nov 2015	5,003	3.5
Dec 2015	5,223	3.7
Jan 2016	5,033	3.5
Feb 2016	5,183	3.6
Mar 2016	5,040	3.5
Apr 2016	4,962	3.4
May 2016	5,101	3.5
Jun 2016	4,940	3.4
Jul 2016	5,001	3.5
Aug 2016	5,059	3.5
Sep 2016	4,942	3.4
Oct 2016	5,041	3.5
Nov 2016	5,075	3.5
Dec 2016	5,084	3.5
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

⁠

Figure 5. Annual total separations, total nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted, 2007–16
Year	Level (thousands)
2006	61,284
2007	60,984
2008	58,209
2009	51,358
2010	47,649
2011	48,214
2012	50,131
2013	51,932
2014	55,587
2015	59,275
2016	60,419
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 3. Annual total separations, by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, 2015 and 2016
Industry and region	Level (in thousands)		Change, 2015–16
Industry and region	2015	2016	Level (in thousands)	Percent
Total nonfarm	59,275	60,419	1,144	1.9
Total private	55,331	56,305	974	1.8
Mining and logging	451	377	-74	-16.4
Construction	3,587	3,841	254	7.1
Manufacturing	3,147	3,341	194	6.2
Durable goods	1,879	1,975	96	5.1
Nondurable goods	1,271	1,366	95	7.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	12,599	12,276	-323	-2.6
Wholesale trade	1,650	1,642	-8	-0.5
Retail trade	8,829	8,440	-389	-4.4
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	2,121	2,193	72	3.4
Information	928	919	-9	-1.0
Financial activities	2,218	2,130	-88	-4.0
Finance and insurance	1,479	1,398	-81	-5.5
Real estate and rental and leasing	740	730	-10	-1.4
Professional and business services	12,084	12,695	611	5.1
Education and health services	6,791	7,064	273	4.0
Educational services	983	1,033	50	5.1
Health care and social assistance	5,807	6,031	224	3.9
Leisure and hospitality	11,098	11,526	428	3.9
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	1,717	1,767	50	2.9
Accommodation and food services	9,383	9,759	376	4.0
Other services	2,432	2,132	-300	-12.3
Government	3,943	4,114	171	4.3
Federal	452	455	3	0.7
State and local	3,489	3,656	167	4.8
State and local education	1,721	1,788	67	3.9
State and local, excluding education	1,768	1,869	101	5.7
Northeast	9,317	9,621	304	3.3
South	23,409	23,335	-74	-0.3
Midwest	12,918	13,446	528	4.1
West	13,630	14,014	384	2.8
Notes: Annual total separations are the number of separations over the entire month for each month during the year. Details may not sum to totals because of rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Total separations by industry and region

In 2016, the growth in total separations varied by industry—12 out of 19 industries had more total separations than in 2015, while 7 had fewer total separations. At the industry level, the largest increases in annual total separations between 2015 and 2016 were in nondurable goods manufacturing (7.5 percent) and construction (7.1 percent). From 2015 to 2016, the largest decreases in annual total separations occurred in mining and logging (−16.4 percent), other services (−12.3 percent), and finance and insurance (−5.5 percent). Changes in annual total separations in the four census regions varied from a decrease of 0.3 percent in the South to a 4.1-percent increase in the Midwest.

Quits

The quits measure is a procyclical one that showed strong growth since the end of the recession. After decreasing by 36.2 percent during the recession, quits increased by 73.1 percent between June 2009 and December 2016. With this growth, quits consistently remained above the November 2007 level (2.8 million) since August 2015. (See figure 6.) Quits rose for the seventh consecutive year, reaching 36.1 million (25.0 percent of annual employment) in 2016, an increase of 7.0 percent over the 2015 annual figure of 33.7 million. Quits rose by 10.3 percent in both 2015 and 2014. Quits rose, but at a slower pace, in 2016. (See figure 7.)

⁠

Figure 6. Quits, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted, December 2000–December 2016
Month and year	Level (thousands)	Rate (percent)
Dec 2000	3,012	2.3
Jan 2001	3,448	2.6
Feb 2001	3,241	2.4
Mar 2001	3,154	2.4
Apr 2001	3,214	2.4
May 2001	3,085	2.3
Jun 2001	3,003	2.3
Jul 2001	2,959	2.2
Aug 2001	2,869	2.2
Sep 2001	2,738	2.1
Oct 2001	2,861	2.2
Nov 2001	2,604	2.0
Dec 2001	2,531	1.9
Jan 2002	2,888	2.2
Feb 2002	2,626	2.0
Mar 2002	2,491	1.9
Apr 2002	2,713	2.1
May 2002	2,699	2.1
Jun 2002	2,613	2.0
Jul 2002	2,710	2.1
Aug 2002	2,649	2.0
Sep 2002	2,626	2.0
Oct 2002	2,578	2.0
Nov 2002	2,462	1.9
Dec 2002	2,565	2.0
Jan 2003	2,514	1.9
Feb 2003	2,471	1.9
Mar 2003	2,403	1.8
Apr 2003	2,406	1.8
May 2003	2,380	1.8
Jun 2003	2,382	1.8
Jul 2003	2,390	1.8
Aug 2003	2,406	1.8
Sep 2003	2,479	1.9
Oct 2003	2,529	1.9
Nov 2003	2,459	1.9
Dec 2003	2,472	1.9
Jan 2004	2,436	1.9
Feb 2004	2,443	1.9
Mar 2004	2,608	2.0
Apr 2004	2,664	2.0
May 2004	2,467	1.9
Jun 2004	2,679	2.0
Jul 2004	2,714	2.1
Aug 2004	2,691	2.0
Sep 2004	2,586	2.0
Oct 2004	2,661	2.0
Nov 2004	2,811	2.1
Dec 2004	2,700	2.0
Jan 2005	2,844	2.1
Feb 2005	2,660	2.0
Mar 2005	2,841	2.1
Apr 2005	2,801	2.1
May 2005	2,882	2.2
Jun 2005	2,821	2.1
Jul 2005	2,794	2.1
Aug 2005	2,966	2.2
Sep 2005	3,053	2.3
Oct 2005	2,967	2.2
Nov 2005	2,920	2.2
Dec 2005	2,805	2.1
Jan 2006	2,954	2.2
Feb 2006	2,975	2.2
Mar 2006	3,004	2.2
Apr 2006	2,789	2.0
May 2006	3,056	2.2
Jun 2006	3,050	2.2
Jul 2006	2,977	2.2
Aug 2006	3,003	2.2
Sep 2006	2,940	2.1
Oct 2006	2,931	2.1
Nov 2006	3,069	2.2
Dec 2006	3,046	2.2
Jan 2007	2,988	2.2
Feb 2007	2,993	2.2
Mar 2007	2,989	2.2
Apr 2007	2,901	2.1
May 2007	3,008	2.2
Jun 2007	2,841	2.1
Jul 2007	2,947	2.1
Aug 2007	2,950	2.1
Sep 2007	2,643	1.9
Oct 2007	2,884	2.1
Nov 2007	2,777	2.0
Dec 2007	2,792	2.0
Jan 2008	2,831	2.0
Feb 2008	2,789	2.0
Mar 2008	2,575	1.9
Apr 2008	2,882	2.1
May 2008	2,602	1.9
Jun 2008	2,662	1.9
Jul 2008	2,550	1.9
Aug 2008	2,416	1.8
Sep 2008	2,446	1.8
Oct 2008	2,412	1.8
Nov 2008	2,063	1.5
Dec 2008	2,104	1.6
Jan 2009	2,043	1.5
Feb 2009	1,906	1.4
Mar 2009	1,794	1.4
Apr 2009	1,734	1.3
May 2009	1,740	1.3
Jun 2009	1,782	1.4
Jul 2009	1,726	1.3
Aug 2009	1,676	1.3
Sep 2009	1,639	1.3
Oct 2009	1,671	1.3
Nov 2009	1,784	1.4
Dec 2009	1,697	1.3
Jan 2010	1,668	1.3
Feb 2010	1,724	1.3
Mar 2010	1,793	1.4
Apr 2010	1,914	1.5
May 2010	1,790	1.4
Jun 2010	1,940	1.5
Jul 2010	1,848	1.4
Aug 2010	1,904	1.5
Sep 2010	1,921	1.5
Oct 2010	1,852	1.4
Nov 2010	1,778	1.4
Dec 2010	1,937	1.5
Jan 2011	1,825	1.4
Feb 2011	1,872	1.4
Mar 2011	1,967	1.5
Apr 2011	1,925	1.5
May 2011	2,037	1.5
Jun 2011	1,949	1.5
Jul 2011	1,981	1.5
Aug 2011	2,087	1.6
Sep 2011	2,046	1.5
Oct 2011	1,953	1.5
Nov 2011	1,949	1.5
Dec 2011	1,955	1.5
Jan 2012	1,977	1.5
Feb 2012	2,080	1.6
Mar 2012	2,164	1.6
Apr 2012	2,104	1.6
May 2012	2,186	1.6
Jun 2012	2,186	1.6
Jul 2012	2,103	1.6
Aug 2012	2,173	1.6
Sep 2012	1,977	1.5
Oct 2012	2,047	1.5
Nov 2012	2,069	1.5
Dec 2012	2,088	1.5
Jan 2013	2,297	1.7
Feb 2013	2,250	1.7
Mar 2013	2,083	1.5
Apr 2013	2,307	1.7
May 2013	2,253	1.7
Jun 2013	2,245	1.6
Jul 2013	2,364	1.7
Aug 2013	2,385	1.7
Sep 2013	2,404	1.8
Oct 2013	2,415	1.8
Nov 2013	2,372	1.7
Dec 2013	2,287	1.7
Jan 2014	2,348	1.7
Feb 2014	2,403	1.7
Mar 2014	2,431	1.8
Apr 2014	2,461	1.8
May 2014	2,517	1.8
Jun 2014	2,476	1.8
Jul 2014	2,580	1.9
Aug 2014	2,538	1.8
Sep 2014	2,798	2.0
Oct 2014	2,774	2.0
Nov 2014	2,633	1.9
Dec 2014	2,634	1.9
Jan 2015	2,759	2.0
Feb 2015	2,682	1.9
Mar 2015	2,736	1.9
Apr 2015	2,718	1.9
May 2015	2,750	1.9
Jun 2015	2,789	2.0
Jul 2015	2,777	2.0
Aug 2015	2,865	2.0
Sep 2015	2,794	2.0
Oct 2015	2,835	2.0
Nov 2015	2,923	2.0
Dec 2015	3,122	2.2
Jan 2016	2,894	2.0
Feb 2016	2,984	2.1
Mar 2016	2,932	2.0
Apr 2016	2,902	2.0
May 2016	3,005	2.1
Jun 2016	2,980	2.1
Jul 2016	3,031	2.1
Aug 2016	3,048	2.1
Sep 2016	3,076	2.1
Oct 2016	3,078	2.1
Nov 2016	3,080	2.1
Dec 2016	3,085	2.1
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

⁠

Figure 7. Annual quits, total nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted, 2007–16
Month and year	Level (thousands)
2006	35,692
2007	34,718
2008	30,391
2009	21,112
2010	22,051
2011	23,581
2012	25,142
2013	27,715
2014	30,582
2015	33,718
2016	36,091
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Quits by industry and region

In 2016, the growth in quits varied by industry—15 out of 19 industries had more quits than in 2015, while 4 had fewer quits. Within the industries, the largest increases in annual quits levels between 2015 and 2016 were in arts, entertainment, and recreation (25.7 percent); professional and business services (15.1 percent); nondurable goods manufacturing (14.8 percent); and state and local government, excluding education (11.8 percent). The largest declines occurred in mining and logging (−9.6 percent), other services (−5.2 percent), and information (−4.4 percent). In the regions, increases in quits ranged from 3.7 percent in the South to 12.6 percent in the West. (See table 4.)

Table 4. Annual quits, by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, 2015 and 2016
Industry and region	Level (in thousands)		Change, 2015–16
Industry and region	2015	2016	Level (in thousands)	Percent
Total nonfarm	33,718	36,091	2,373	7.0
Total private	31,837	34,051	2,214	7.0
Mining and logging	177	160	-17	-9.6
Construction	1,365	1,469	104	7.6
Manufacturing	1,637	1,799	162	9.9
Durable goods	936	1,000	64	6.8
Nondurable goods	698	801	103	14.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	7,533	7,758	225	3.0
Wholesale trade	933	1,012	79	8.5
Retail trade	5,481	5,568	87	1.6
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	1,119	1,181	62	5.5
Information	505	483	-22	-4.4
Financial activities	1,209	1,192	-17	-1.4
Finance and insurance	819	797	-22	-2.7
Real estate and rental and leasing	391	396	5	1.3
Professional and business services	6,283	7,234	951	15.1
Education and health services	4,507	4,680	173	3.8
Educational services	530	567	37	7.0
Health care and social assistance	3,976	4,113	137	3.4
Leisure and hospitality	7,276	7,993	717	9.9
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	657	826	169	25.7
Accommodation and food services	6,617	7,168	551	8.3
Other services	1,350	1,280	-70	-5.2
Government	1,882	2,038	156	8.3
Federal	150	161	11	7.3
State and local	1,729	1,877	148	8.6
State and local education	867	912	45	5.2
State and local, excluding education	863	965	102	11.8
Northeast	4,749	5,011	262	5.5
South	13,988	14,501	513	3.7
Midwest	7,421	8,072	651	8.8
West	7,561	8,512	951	12.6
Notes: Annual quits are the total number of quits over the entire month for each month during the year. Details may not sum to totals because of rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Layoffs and discharges

Being countercyclical, layoffs and discharges rose during the recession but decreased toward the end of the recession and have leveled off since mid-2011. After increasing by 19.5 percent during the recession, the layoffs and discharges level decreased by 23.2 percent between June 2009 and December 2016. (See figure 8.) Annual levels of layoffs and discharges have been steady since 2010, with a small decrease during 2016. (See figure 9.) After edging up the past 2 years, the layoffs and discharges annual level declined in 2016 to 19.9 million (13.8 percent of annual employment), a decrease of 5.0 percent from 21.0 million in 2015. (See table 5.)

⁠

Figure 8. Layoffs and discharges, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted, December 2000–December 2016
Month and year	Level (thousands)	Rate (percent)
Dec 2000	1,891	1.4
Jan 2001	2,196	1.7
Feb 2001	1,849	1.4
Mar 2001	2,144	1.6
Apr 2001	1,917	1.4
May 2001	2,012	1.5
Jun 2001	1,900	1.4
Jul 2001	1,949	1.5
Aug 2001	1,863	1.4
Sep 2001	2,042	1.5
Oct 2001	2,256	1.7
Nov 2001	2,118	1.6
Dec 2001	1,878	1.4
Jan 2002	1,884	1.4
Feb 2002	1,982	1.5
Mar 2002	1,751	1.3
Apr 2002	1,904	1.5
May 2002	1,947	1.5
Jun 2002	1,823	1.4
Jul 2002	1,985	1.5
Aug 2002	1,842	1.4
Sep 2002	1,879	1.4
Oct 2002	1,865	1.4
Nov 2002	1,912	1.5
Dec 2002	1,952	1.5
Jan 2003	2,002	1.5
Feb 2003	1,972	1.5
Mar 2003	1,833	1.4
Apr 2003	2,007	1.5
May 2003	1,965	1.5
Jun 2003	2,066	1.6
Jul 2003	2,021	1.6
Aug 2003	1,996	1.5
Sep 2003	1,904	1.5
Oct 2003	1,896	1.5
Nov 2003	1,824	1.4
Dec 2003	1,930	1.5
Jan 2004	1,954	1.5
Feb 2004	1,831	1.4
Mar 2004	1,933	1.5
Apr 2004	1,902	1.4
May 2004	1,832	1.4
Jun 2004	1,846	1.4
Jul 2004	1,806	1.4
Aug 2004	1,926	1.5
Sep 2004	1,851	1.4
Oct 2004	1,755	1.3
Nov 2004	1,949	1.5
Dec 2004	1,964	1.5
Jan 2005	1,939	1.5
Feb 2005	1,979	1.5
Mar 2005	1,934	1.5
Apr 2005	1,848	1.4
May 2005	1,878	1.4
Jun 2005	1,951	1.5
Jul 2005	1,827	1.4
Aug 2005	1,882	1.4
Sep 2005	1,907	1.4
Oct 2005	1,666	1.2
Nov 2005	1,689	1.3
Dec 2005	1,718	1.3
Jan 2006	1,670	1.2
Feb 2006	1,671	1.2
Mar 2006	1,650	1.2
Apr 2006	1,795	1.3
May 2006	1,887	1.4
Jun 2006	1,672	1.2
Jul 2006	1,767	1.3
Aug 2006	1,621	1.2
Sep 2006	1,706	1.2
Oct 2006	1,830	1.3
Nov 2006	1,870	1.4
Dec 2006	1,725	1.3
Jan 2007	1,746	1.3
Feb 2007	1,750	1.3
Mar 2007	1,788	1.3
Apr 2007	1,879	1.4
May 2007	1,755	1.3
Jun 2007	1,851	1.3
Jul 2007	1,759	1.3
Aug 2007	1,811	1.3
Sep 2007	2,079	1.5
Oct 2007	1,917	1.4
Nov 2007	1,919	1.4
Dec 2007	1,770	1.3
Jan 2008	1,843	1.3
Feb 2008	1,908	1.4
Mar 2008	1,835	1.3
Apr 2008	1,845	1.3
May 2008	1,842	1.3
Jun 2008	1,974	1.4
Jul 2008	1,894	1.4
Aug 2008	2,075	1.5
Sep 2008	1,963	1.4
Oct 2008	2,138	1.6
Nov 2008	2,190	1.6
Dec 2008	2,405	1.8
Jan 2009	2,573	1.9
Feb 2009	2,501	1.9
Mar 2009	2,433	1.8
Apr 2009	2,559	1.9
May 2009	2,121	1.6
Jun 2009	2,115	1.6
Jul 2009	2,273	1.7
Aug 2009	2,063	1.6
Sep 2009	2,127	1.6
Oct 2009	1,964	1.5
Nov 2009	1,823	1.4
Dec 2009	1,994	1.5
Jan 2010	1,874	1.4
Feb 2010	1,790	1.4
Mar 2010	1,830	1.4
Apr 2010	1,676	1.3
May 2010	1,733	1.3
Jun 2010	1,959	1.5
Jul 2010	2,081	1.6
Aug 2010	1,748	1.3
Sep 2010	1,768	1.4
Oct 2010	1,645	1.3
Nov 2010	1,753	1.3
Dec 2010	1,776	1.4
Jan 2011	1,710	1.3
Feb 2011	1,652	1.3
Mar 2011	1,709	1.3
Apr 2011	1,676	1.3
May 2011	1,692	1.3
Jun 2011	1,826	1.4
Jul 2011	1,749	1.3
Aug 2011	1,715	1.3
Sep 2011	1,756	1.3
Oct 2011	1,707	1.3
Nov 2011	1,757	1.3
Dec 2011	1,740	1.3
Jan 2012	1,707	1.3
Feb 2012	1,780	1.3
Mar 2012	1,653	1.2
Apr 2012	1,850	1.4
May 2012	1,828	1.4
Jun 2012	1,812	1.4
Jul 2012	1,668	1.2
Aug 2012	1,836	1.4
Sep 2012	1,745	1.3
Oct 2012	1,791	1.3
Nov 2012	1,789	1.3
Dec 2012	1,594	1.2
Jan 2013	1,602	1.2
Feb 2013	1,598	1.2
Mar 2013	1,710	1.3
Apr 2013	1,726	1.3
May 2013	1,735	1.3
Jun 2013	1,629	1.2
Jul 2013	1,654	1.2
Aug 2013	1,723	1.3
Sep 2013	1,782	1.3
Oct 2013	1,555	1.1
Nov 2013	1,542	1.1
Dec 2013	1,688	1.2
Jan 2014	1,728	1.3
Feb 2014	1,662	1.2
Mar 2014	1,631	1.2
Apr 2014	1,680	1.2
May 2014	1,651	1.2
Jun 2014	1,695	1.2
Jul 2014	1,829	1.3
Aug 2014	1,677	1.2
Sep 2014	1,682	1.2
Oct 2014	1,775	1.3
Nov 2014	1,675	1.2
Dec 2014	1,720	1.2
Jan 2015	1,725	1.2
Feb 2015	1,669	1.2
Mar 2015	1,889	1.3
Apr 2015	1,797	1.3
May 2015	1,667	1.2
Jun 2015	1,794	1.3
Jul 2015	1,673	1.2
Aug 2015	1,687	1.2
Sep 2015	1,899	1.3
Oct 2015	1,751	1.2
Nov 2015	1,689	1.2
Dec 2015	1,732	1.2
Jan 2016	1,724	1.2
Feb 2016	1,834	1.3
Mar 2016	1,726	1.2
Apr 2016	1,669	1.2
May 2016	1,741	1.2
Jun 2016	1,609	1.1
Jul 2016	1,609	1.1
Aug 2016	1,660	1.1
Sep 2016	1,516	1.0
Oct 2016	1,593	1.1
Nov 2016	1,660	1.1
Dec 2016	1,624	1.1
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

⁠

Figure 9. Annual layoffs and discharges, total nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted, 2007–16
Year	Level (thousands)
2006	20,856
2007	21,997
2008	23,969
2009	26,557
2010	21,703
2011	20,756
2012	20,942
2013	19,888
2014	20,398
2015	20,954
2016	19,911
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 5. Annual layoffs and discharges, by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, in thousands, 2015 and 2016
Industry and region	Level (in thousands)		Change, 2015–16
Industry and region	2015	2016	Level (in thousands)	Percent
Total nonfarm	20,954	19,911	-1,043	-5.0
Total private	19,658	18,585	-1,073	-5.5
Mining and logging	242	170	-72	-29.8
Construction	2,073	2,188	115	5.5
Manufacturing	1,232	1,254	22	1.8
Durable goods	767	792	25	3.3
Nondurable goods	464	459	-5	-1.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	3,836	3,418	-418	-10.9
Wholesale trade	585	487	-98	-16.8
Retail trade	2,437	2,105	-332	-13.6
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	815	824	9	1.1
Information	304	304	0	0.0
Financial activities	699	650	-49	-7.0
Finance and insurance	416	369	-47	-11.3
Real estate and rental and leasing	285	281	-4	-1.4
Professional and business services	5,073	4,780	-293	-5.8
Education and health services	1,734	1,915	181	10.4
Educational services	382	400	18	4.7
Health care and social assistance	1,352	1,514	162	12.0
Leisure and hospitality	3,506	3,142	-364	-10.4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	1,015	909	-106	-10.4
Accommodation and food services	2,492	2,231	-261	-10.5
Other services	956	766	-190	-19.9
Government	1,297	1,326	29	2.2
Federal	163	153	-10	-6.1
State and local	1,134	1,173	39	3.4
State and local education	558	576	18	3.2
State and local, excluding education	578	597	19	3.3
Northeast	3,659	3,851	192	5.2
South	7,618	7,086	-532	-7.0
Midwest	4,617	4,472	-145	-3.1
West	5,061	4,504	-557	-11.0
Notes: Annual layoffs and discharges are the total number of layoffs and discharges over the entire month for each month during the year. Details may not sum to totals because of rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Layoffs and discharges by industry and region

In 2016, the growth in layoffs and discharges varied by industry—7 out of 19 industries had more layoffs and discharges than in 2015. Within the industries, the largest increases in annual layoffs and discharges levels between 2015 and 2016 were in health care and social assistance (12.0 percent) and construction (5.5 percent). The largest decreases were exhibited by mining and logging (−29.8 percent), other services (−19.9 percent), and wholesale trade (−16.8 percent). Changes in layoffs and discharges varied by census region, increasing by 5.2 percent in the Northeast while declining in the other regions, with the greatest decrease in the West (−11.0 percent). (See table 5.)

Other separations

Other separations levels have shown variation throughout JOLTS history, ranging from 264,000 to 499,000. Other separations levels decreased by 18.7 percent during the recession and increased by 27.1 percent between June 2009 and December 2016. (See figure 10.) The annual level of other separations declined by 4.0 percent, from 4.6 million in 2015 to 4.4 million in 2016 (3.1 percent of annual employment). (See figure 11.)

⁠

Figure 10. Other separations, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted, December 2000–December 2016
Month and year	Level (thousands)	Rate (percent)
Dec 2000	332	0.3
Jan 2001	423	0.3
Feb 2001	293	0.2
Mar 2001	357	0.3
Apr 2001	414	0.3
May 2001	342	0.3
Jun 2001	349	0.3
Jul 2001	396	0.3
Aug 2001	411	0.3
Sep 2001	389	0.3
Oct 2001	384	0.3
Nov 2001	332	0.3
Dec 2001	374	0.3
Jan 2002	431	0.3
Feb 2002	345	0.3
Mar 2002	366	0.3
Apr 2002	409	0.3
May 2002	333	0.3
Jun 2002	358	0.3
Jul 2002	423	0.3
Aug 2002	369	0.3
Sep 2002	386	0.3
Oct 2002	362	0.3
Nov 2002	387	0.3
Dec 2002	401	0.3
Jan 2003	499	0.4
Feb 2003	337	0.3
Mar 2003	350	0.3
Apr 2003	368	0.3
May 2003	325	0.2
Jun 2003	335	0.3
Jul 2003	340	0.3
Aug 2003	346	0.3
Sep 2003	369	0.3
Oct 2003	363	0.3
Nov 2003	328	0.3
Dec 2003	330	0.3
Jan 2004	404	0.3
Feb 2004	297	0.2
Mar 2004	333	0.3
Apr 2004	334	0.3
May 2004	354	0.3
Jun 2004	355	0.3
Jul 2004	365	0.3
Aug 2004	367	0.3
Sep 2004	371	0.3
Oct 2004	365	0.3
Nov 2004	339	0.3
Dec 2004	326	0.2
Jan 2005	394	0.3
Feb 2005	367	0.3
Mar 2005	296	0.2
Apr 2005	321	0.2
May 2005	346	0.3
Jun 2005	302	0.2
Jul 2005	296	0.2
Aug 2005	372	0.3
Sep 2005	345	0.3
Oct 2005	327	0.2
Nov 2005	341	0.3
Dec 2005	422	0.3
Jan 2006	419	0.3
Feb 2006	338	0.2
Mar 2006	383	0.3
Apr 2006	428	0.3
May 2006	475	0.3
Jun 2006	414	0.3
Jul 2006	439	0.3
Aug 2006	377	0.3
Sep 2006	361	0.3
Oct 2006	411	0.3
Nov 2006	351	0.3
Dec 2006	337	0.2
Jan 2007	410	0.3
Feb 2007	352	0.3
Mar 2007	346	0.3
Apr 2007	357	0.3
May 2007	318	0.2
Jun 2007	373	0.3
Jul 2007	412	0.3
Aug 2007	343	0.2
Sep 2007	309	0.2
Oct 2007	328	0.2
Nov 2007	334	0.2
Dec 2007	363	0.3
Jan 2008	332	0.2
Feb 2008	313	0.2
Mar 2008	352	0.3
Apr 2008	394	0.3
May 2008	285	0.2
Jun 2008	264	0.2
Jul 2008	269	0.2
Aug 2008	324	0.2
Sep 2008	342	0.3
Oct 2008	346	0.3
Nov 2008	352	0.3
Dec 2008	305	0.2
Jan 2009	358	0.3
Feb 2009	266	0.2
Mar 2009	308	0.2
Apr 2009	362	0.3
May 2009	286	0.2
Jun 2009	295	0.2
Jul 2009	298	0.2
Aug 2009	321	0.2
Sep 2009	318	0.2
Oct 2009	317	0.2
Nov 2009	267	0.2
Dec 2009	298	0.2
Jan 2010	352	0.3
Feb 2010	317	0.2
Mar 2010	326	0.3
Apr 2010	302	0.2
May 2010	307	0.2
Jun 2010	325	0.2
Jul 2010	350	0.3
Aug 2010	357	0.3
Sep 2010	337	0.3
Oct 2010	287	0.2
Nov 2010	311	0.2
Dec 2010	312	0.2
Jan 2011	373	0.3
Feb 2011	314	0.2
Mar 2011	304	0.2
Apr 2011	323	0.2
May 2011	306	0.2
Jun 2011	319	0.2
Jul 2011	352	0.3
Aug 2011	318	0.2
Sep 2011	313	0.2
Oct 2011	352	0.3
Nov 2011	296	0.2
Dec 2011	299	0.2
Jan 2012	326	0.2
Feb 2012	314	0.2
Mar 2012	317	0.2
Apr 2012	307	0.2
May 2012	322	0.2
Jun 2012	369	0.3
Jul 2012	367	0.3
Aug 2012	350	0.3
Sep 2012	337	0.3
Oct 2012	355	0.3
Nov 2012	314	0.2
Dec 2012	356	0.3
Jan 2013	397	0.3
Feb 2013	308	0.2
Mar 2013	320	0.2
Apr 2013	343	0.3
May 2013	374	0.3
Jun 2013	392	0.3
Jul 2013	366	0.3
Aug 2013	408	0.3
Sep 2013	350	0.3
Oct 2013	318	0.2
Nov 2013	354	0.3
Dec 2013	360	0.3
Jan 2014	367	0.3
Feb 2014	371	0.3
Mar 2014	391	0.3
Apr 2014	377	0.3
May 2014	397	0.3
Jun 2014	382	0.3
Jul 2014	375	0.3
Aug 2014	411	0.3
Sep 2014	402	0.3
Oct 2014	379	0.3
Nov 2014	324	0.2
Dec 2014	435	0.3
Jan 2015	358	0.3
Feb 2015	354	0.3
Mar 2015	361	0.3
Apr 2015	391	0.3
May 2015	395	0.3
Jun 2015	428	0.3
Jul 2015	399	0.3
Aug 2015	407	0.3
Sep 2015	374	0.3
Oct 2015	397	0.3
Nov 2015	391	0.3
Dec 2015	369	0.3
Jan 2016	415	0.3
Feb 2016	365	0.3
Mar 2016	382	0.3
Apr 2016	390	0.3
May 2016	355	0.2
Jun 2016	351	0.2
Jul 2016	362	0.3
Aug 2016	350	0.2
Sep 2016	351	0.2
Oct 2016	370	0.3
Nov 2016	334	0.2
Dec 2016	375	0.3
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

⁠

Figure 11. Annual other separations, total nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted, 2007–16
Year	Level (thousands)
2006	4,731
2007	4,270
2008	3,850
2009	3,689
2010	3,897
2011	3,877
2012	4,047
2013	4,327
2014	4,605
2015	4,603
2016	4,418
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Other separations by industry and region

In 2016, the growth in other separations varied by industry—8 out of 19 industries had more other separations than in 2015. Within the industries, the largest increases in the annual level of other separations between 2015 and 2016 were in mining and logging (37.1 percent), accommodation and food services (31.1 percent), and construction (21.9 percent). The largest decreases were in other services (−29.0 percent); arts, entertainment, and recreation (−20.5 percent); and real estate and rental and leasing (−16.1 percent). Changes in other separations varied by census region, with an increase in the Midwest (2.5 percent) and the largest decrease in the Northeast (−16.3 percent). (See table 6.)

Table 6. Annual other separations, by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, 2015 and 2016
Industry and region	Level (in thousands)		Change, 2015–16
Industry and region	2015	2016	Level (in thousands)	Percent
Total nonfarm	4,603	4,418	-185	-4.0
Total private	3,835	3,670	-165	-4.3
Mining and logging	35	48	13	37.1
Construction	151	184	33	21.9
Manufacturing	277	289	12	4.3
Durable goods	175	182	7	4.0
Nondurable goods	104	107	3	2.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,228	1,099	-129	-10.5
Wholesale trade	128	144	16	12.5
Retail trade	908	768	-140	-15.4
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	189	186	-3	-1.6
Information	120	132	12	10.0
Financial activities	309	287	-22	-7.1
Finance and insurance	244	237	-7	-2.9
Real estate and rental and leasing	62	52	-10	-16.1
Professional and business services	730	681	-49	-6.7
Education and health services	548	468	-80	-14.6
Educational services	69	66	-3	-4.3
Health care and social assistance	477	401	-76	-15.9
Leisure and hospitality	319	393	74	23.2
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	44	35	-9	-20.5
Accommodation and food services	273	358	85	31.1
Other services	124	88	-36	-29.0
Government	766	748	-18	-2.3
Federal	143	140	-3	-2.1
State and local	625	607	-18	-2.9
State and local education	297	298	1	0.3
State and local, excluding education	333	311	-22	-6.6
Northeast	910	762	-148	-16.3
South	1,805	1,752	-53	-2.9
Midwest	882	904	22	2.5
West	1,007	1,002	-5	-0.5
Notes: Annual other separations is the total number of other separations over the entire month for each month during the year. Details may not sum to totals because of rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job openings and employment

Job openings and nonfarm payroll employment from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey tend to follow a similar pattern, rising and falling together during upturns and downturns of the business cycle, because of their procyclical nature.^{^⁶} (See figure 12.)

⁠

Figure 12. Job openings and employment, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted, December 2000–December 2016
Month and year	Job openings (thousands)	Employment (thousands)
Dec 2000	4,736	132,731
Jan 2001	5,385	132,705
Feb 2001	4,658	132,777
Mar 2001	4,563	132,752
Apr 2001	4,901	132,471
May 2001	4,550	132,433
Jun 2001	4,280	132,302
Jul 2001	4,499	132,190
Aug 2001	4,134	132,033
Sep 2001	3,975	131,793
Oct 2001	3,605	131,468
Nov 2001	3,387	131,175
Dec 2001	3,385	131,005
Jan 2002	3,759	130,867
Feb 2002	3,372	130,733
Mar 2002	3,551	130,713
Apr 2002	3,472	130,634
May 2002	3,596	130,627
Jun 2002	3,365	130,684
Jul 2002	3,411	130,599
Aug 2002	3,490	130,585
Sep 2002	3,308	130,526
Oct 2002	3,535	130,652
Nov 2002	3,415	130,662
Dec 2002	2,943	130,505
Jan 2003	3,824	130,597
Feb 2003	3,381	130,447
Mar 2003	3,052	130,238
Apr 2003	3,340	130,194
May 2003	3,233	130,186
Jun 2003	3,334	130,195
Jul 2003	3,270	130,219
Aug 2003	3,283	130,177
Sep 2003	3,074	130,281
Oct 2003	3,205	130,479
Nov 2003	3,157	130,496
Dec 2003	3,214	130,618
Jan 2004	3,459	130,780
Feb 2004	3,402	130,826
Mar 2004	3,380	131,158
Apr 2004	3,629	131,407
May 2004	3,660	131,715
Jun 2004	3,424	131,791
Jul 2004	3,934	131,835
Aug 2004	3,619	131,956
Sep 2004	3,742	132,120
Oct 2004	3,792	132,466
Nov 2004	3,238	132,530
Dec 2004	3,650	132,660
Jan 2005	3,670	132,794
Feb 2005	3,845	133,033
Mar 2005	3,831	133,169
Apr 2005	4,243	133,534
May 2005	3,884	133,708
Jun 2005	4,022	133,955
Jul 2005	4,319	134,331
Aug 2005	4,073	134,525
Sep 2005	4,237	134,593
Oct 2005	4,277	134,678
Nov 2005	4,220	135,015
Dec 2005	4,064	135,174
Jan 2006	4,298	135,452
Feb 2006	4,229	135,768
Mar 2006	4,493	136,049
Apr 2006	4,680	136,232
May 2006	4,389	136,255
Jun 2006	4,349	136,337
Jul 2006	4,154	136,544
Aug 2006	4,560	136,725
Sep 2006	4,516	136,883
Oct 2006	4,472	136,887
Nov 2006	4,341	137,095
Dec 2006	4,278	137,266
Jan 2007	4,630	137,506
Feb 2007	4,465	137,595
Mar 2007	4,666	137,785
Apr 2007	4,824	137,865
May 2007	4,550	138,008
Jun 2007	4,608	138,083
Jul 2007	4,490	138,049
Aug 2007	4,555	138,029
Sep 2007	4,523	138,117
Oct 2007	4,300	138,201
Nov 2007	4,156	138,315
Dec 2007	4,123	138,413
Jan 2008	4,260	138,430
Feb 2008	4,042	138,346
Mar 2008	4,001	138,268
Apr 2008	4,098	138,058
May 2008	3,960	137,872
Jun 2008	3,767	137,710
Jul 2008	3,821	137,497
Aug 2008	3,665	137,230
Sep 2008	3,264	136,780
Oct 2008	3,292	136,306
Nov 2008	2,956	135,540
Dec 2008	2,830	134,846
Jan 2009	2,767	134,053
Feb 2009	2,791	133,351
Mar 2009	2,491	132,528
Apr 2009	2,357	131,841
May 2009	2,427	131,492
Jun 2009	2,428	131,021
Jul 2009	2,196	130,692
Aug 2009	2,306	130,479
Sep 2009	2,478	130,259
Oct 2009	2,400	130,055
Nov 2009	2,350	130,053
Dec 2009	2,407	129,778
Jan 2010	2,636	129,801
Feb 2010	2,578	129,733
Mar 2010	2,666	129,897
Apr 2010	3,220	130,140
May 2010	2,891	130,664
Jun 2010	2,664	130,527
Jul 2010	2,965	130,459
Aug 2010	2,920	130,423
Sep 2010	2,767	130,371
Oct 2010	3,033	130,633
Nov 2010	2,914	130,752
Dec 2010	2,857	130,839
Jan 2011	2,939	130,882
Feb 2011	3,056	131,071
Mar 2011	3,130	131,296
Apr 2011	3,287	131,642
May 2011	3,114	131,719
Jun 2011	3,224	131,944
Jul 2011	3,475	132,013
Aug 2011	3,168	132,123
Sep 2011	3,495	132,371
Oct 2011	3,421	132,580
Nov 2011	3,153	132,721
Dec 2011	3,369	132,930
Jan 2012	3,725	133,288
Feb 2012	3,500	133,525
Mar 2012	3,831	133,758
Apr 2012	3,643	133,836
May 2012	3,694	133,951
Jun 2012	3,799	134,027
Jul 2012	3,694	134,170
Aug 2012	3,683	134,347
Sep 2012	3,521	134,550
Oct 2012	3,708	134,696
Nov 2012	3,521	134,828
Dec 2012	3,570	135,072
Jan 2013	3,790	135,283
Feb 2013	3,974	135,569
Mar 2013	3,872	135,699
Apr 2013	3,951	135,896
May 2013	3,873	136,122
Jun 2013	3,924	136,284
Jul 2013	3,896	136,406
Aug 2013	3,968	136,667
Sep 2013	3,959	136,857
Oct 2013	4,105	137,069
Nov 2013	3,837	137,327
Dec 2013	3,742	137,374
Jan 2014	3,980	137,564
Feb 2014	4,101	137,715
Mar 2014	4,167	137,987
Apr 2014	4,569	138,316
May 2014	4,594	138,562
Jun 2014	4,680	138,866
Jul 2014	4,648	139,068
Aug 2014	5,026	139,298
Sep 2014	4,625	139,578
Oct 2014	4,906	139,805
Nov 2014	4,684	140,117
Dec 2014	4,795	140,372
Jan 2015	5,104	140,606
Feb 2015	5,124	140,844
Mar 2015	5,125	140,930
Apr 2015	5,632	141,192
May 2015	5,421	141,536
Jun 2015	5,189	141,742
Jul 2015	5,891	141,996
Aug 2015	5,445	142,153
Sep 2015	5,414	142,253
Oct 2015	5,484	142,574
Nov 2015	5,221	142,846
Dec 2015	5,374	143,085
Jan 2016	5,713	143,211
Feb 2016	5,566	143,448
Mar 2016	5,852	143,673
Apr 2016	5,643	143,826
May 2016	5,582	143,869
Jun 2016	5,535	144,166
Jul 2016	5,973	144,457
Aug 2016	5,491	144,633
Sep 2016	5,666	144,882
Oct 2016	5,587	145,006
Nov 2016	5,631	145,170
Dec 2016	5,539	145,327
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Before the most recent recession, job openings peaked at 4.8 million in April 2007, and CES employment peaked at 138.4 million in January 2008. Both measures then declined rapidly during the recession: job openings reached a low of 2.2 million in July 2009, and employment continued to decline to a low of 129.7 million in February 2010. Since then, both job openings and employment have experienced robust growth and exceed their prerecession levels.

On an over-the-year basis, job openings in 2016 rose by 165,000, or 9.3 percent, to reach 5.5 million. Similarly, CES employment continued to rise in 2016, ending the year at 145.3 million.

Unemployed people per job opening

Job openings and unemployment levels generally move in opposite directions. The ratio of the number of unemployed people per job opening is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed people from the Current Population Survey by the number of job openings. During expansionary times, unemployment is low and the job openings level is high, causing the ratio to decrease, and vice versa. Because of this countercyclical behavior, the ratio of unemployed people to job openings provides a metric that helps to describe the state of the economy. (See figure 13.)

⁠

Figure 13. Ratio of unemployed people to job openings, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted, December 2000–December 2016
Month and year	Ratio
Dec 2000	1.2
Jan 2001	1.1
Feb 2001	1.3
Mar 2001	1.3
Apr 2001	1.3
May 2001	1.4
Jun 2001	1.5
Jul 2001	1.5
Aug 2001	1.7
Sep 2001	1.8
Oct 2001	2.1
Nov 2001	2.4
Dec 2001	2.4
Jan 2002	2.2
Feb 2002	2.4
Mar 2002	2.3
Apr 2002	2.5
May 2002	2.3
Jun 2002	2.5
Jul 2002	2.5
Aug 2002	2.4
Sep 2002	2.5
Oct 2002	2.3
Nov 2002	2.5
Dec 2002	2.9
Jan 2003	2.2
Feb 2003	2.5
Mar 2003	2.8
Apr 2003	2.6
May 2003	2.8
Jun 2003	2.8
Jul 2003	2.8
Aug 2003	2.7
Sep 2003	2.9
Oct 2003	2.7
Nov 2003	2.7
Dec 2003	2.6
Jan 2004	2.4
Feb 2004	2.4
Mar 2004	2.5
Apr 2004	2.3
May 2004	2.2
Jun 2004	2.4
Jul 2004	2.1
Aug 2004	2.2
Sep 2004	2.1
Oct 2004	2.1
Nov 2004	2.4
Dec 2004	2.2
Jan 2005	2.1
Feb 2005	2.1
Mar 2005	2.0
Apr 2005	1.8
May 2005	2.0
Jun 2005	1.9
Jul 2005	1.7
Aug 2005	1.8
Sep 2005	1.8
Oct 2005	1.7
Nov 2005	1.8
Dec 2005	1.8
Jan 2006	1.6
Feb 2006	1.7
Mar 2006	1.6
Apr 2006	1.5
May 2006	1.6
Jun 2006	1.6
Jul 2006	1.7
Aug 2006	1.6
Sep 2006	1.5
Oct 2006	1.5
Nov 2006	1.6
Dec 2006	1.6
Jan 2007	1.5
Feb 2007	1.6
Mar 2007	1.4
Apr 2007	1.4
May 2007	1.5
Jun 2007	1.5
Jul 2007	1.6
Aug 2007	1.6
Sep 2007	1.6
Oct 2007	1.7
Nov 2007	1.7
Dec 2007	1.9
Jan 2008	1.8
Feb 2008	1.9
Mar 2008	2.0
Apr 2008	1.9
May 2008	2.1
Jun 2008	2.3
Jul 2008	2.3
Aug 2008	2.6
Sep 2008	2.9
Oct 2008	3.1
Nov 2008	3.6
Dec 2008	4.0
Jan 2009	4.4
Feb 2009	4.6
Mar 2009	5.4
Apr 2009	5.9
May 2009	6.0
Jun 2009	6.1
Jul 2009	6.6
Aug 2009	6.4
Sep 2009	6.1
Oct 2009	6.4
Nov 2009	6.5
Dec 2009	6.3
Jan 2010	5.7
Feb 2010	5.9
Mar 2010	5.7
Apr 2010	4.8
May 2010	5.1
Jun 2010	5.4
Jul 2010	4.9
Aug 2010	5.0
Sep 2010	5.3
Oct 2010	4.8
Nov 2010	5.2
Dec 2010	5.0
Jan 2011	4.8
Feb 2011	4.5
Mar 2011	4.4
Apr 2011	4.2
May 2011	4.4
Jun 2011	4.3
Jul 2011	4.0
Aug 2011	4.4
Sep 2011	4.0
Oct 2011	4.0
Nov 2011	4.2
Dec 2011	3.9
Jan 2012	3.4
Feb 2012	3.7
Mar 2012	3.3
Apr 2012	3.5
May 2012	3.4
Jun 2012	3.3
Jul 2012	3.4
Aug 2012	3.4
Sep 2012	3.4
Oct 2012	3.3
Nov 2012	3.4
Dec 2012	3.4
Jan 2013	3.3
Feb 2013	3.0
Mar 2013	3.0
Apr 2013	3.0
May 2013	3.0
Jun 2013	3.0
Jul 2013	2.9
Aug 2013	2.8
Sep 2013	2.8
Oct 2013	2.7
Nov 2013	2.8
Dec 2013	2.8
Jan 2014	2.6
Feb 2014	2.5
Mar 2014	2.5
Apr 2014	2.1
May 2014	2.1
Jun 2014	2.0
Jul 2014	2.1
Aug 2014	1.9
Sep 2014	2.0
Oct 2014	1.8
Nov 2014	1.9
Dec 2014	1.8
Jan 2015	1.8
Feb 2015	1.7
Mar 2015	1.7
Apr 2015	1.5
May 2015	1.6
Jun 2015	1.6
Jul 2015	1.4
Aug 2015	1.5
Sep 2015	1.5
Oct 2015	1.4
Nov 2015	1.5
Dec 2015	1.5
Jan 2016	1.4
Feb 2016	1.4
Mar 2016	1.4
Apr 2016	1.4
May 2016	1.3
Jun 2016	1.4
Jul 2016	1.3
Aug 2016	1.4
Sep 2016	1.4
Oct 2016	1.4
Nov 2016	1.3
Dec 2016	1.4
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

When the most recent recession began in December 2007, the number of unemployed people per job opening was 1.9, rising to a high point of 6.6 in July 2009. It has trended steadily down since then, ranging from 1.3 to 1.4 in each month in 2016.

Beveridge Curve

The Beveridge Curve shows the inverse relationship between job openings and unemployment.^{^⁷} Because of this relationship, the curve provides a way for us to study the link between unfilled labor demand (measured by job openings) and excess labor supply (measured by the unemployment rate) over time. Each month corresponds to a point on the downward-sloping curve, where the unemployment rate is plotted on the x axis and the job openings rate is plotted on the y axis. For any given unemployment rate, the rate of job openings is a reflection of the efficiency of the labor market. A higher job openings rate signals a problem with matching jobseekers to job openings. During an economic expansion, the unemployment rate is low and the job openings rate is high, so the monthly point on the curve is expected to be high and to the left on the graph. During an economic contraction, the unemployment rate is high and the job openings rate is low, so the monthly point on the curve is expected to fall and move to the right as happened during the most recent recession. (See figure 14.)

⁠

⁠ ⁠

⁠ Figure 14. The Beveridge Curve (job openings versus unemployment rate), seasonally adjusted, December 2000–December 2016⁠
Month and year	Job openings rate	Unemployment rate
Dec 2000	3.4	3.9
Jan 2001	3.9	4.2
Feb 2001	3.4	4.2
Mar 2001	3.3	4.3
Apr 2001	3.6	4.4
May 2001	3.3	4.3
Jun 2001	3.1	4.5
Jul 2001	3.3	4.6
Aug 2001	3.0	4.9
Sep 2001	2.9	5.0
Oct 2001	2.7	5.3
Nov 2001	2.5	5.5
Dec 2001	2.5	5.7
Jan 2002	2.8	5.7
Feb 2002	2.5	5.7
Mar 2002	2.6	5.7
Apr 2002	2.6	5.9
May 2002	2.7	5.8
Jun 2002	2.5	5.8
Jul 2002	2.5	5.8
Aug 2002	2.6	5.7
Sep 2002	2.5	5.7
Oct 2002	2.6	5.7
Nov 2002	2.5	5.9
Dec 2002	2.2	6.0
Jan 2003	2.8	5.8
Feb 2003	2.5	5.9
Mar 2003	2.3	5.9
Apr 2003	2.5	6.0
May 2003	2.4	6.1
Jun 2003	2.5	6.3
Jul 2003	2.4	6.2
Aug 2003	2.5	6.1
Sep 2003	2.3	6.1
Oct 2003	2.4	6.0
Nov 2003	2.4	5.8
Dec 2003	2.4	5.7
Jan 2004	2.6	5.7
Feb 2004	2.5	5.6
Mar 2004	2.5	5.8
Apr 2004	2.7	5.6
May 2004	2.7	5.6
Jun 2004	2.5	5.6
Jul 2004	2.9	5.5
Aug 2004	2.7	5.4
Sep 2004	2.8	5.4
Oct 2004	2.8	5.5
Nov 2004	2.4	5.4
Dec 2004	2.7	5.4
Jan 2005	2.7	5.3
Feb 2005	2.8	5.4
Mar 2005	2.8	5.2
Apr 2005	3.1	5.2
May 2005	2.8	5.1
Jun 2005	2.9	5.0
Jul 2005	3.1	5.0
Aug 2005	2.9	4.9
Sep 2005	3.1	5.0
Oct 2005	3.1	5.0
Nov 2005	3.0	5.0
Dec 2005	2.9	4.9
Jan 2006	3.1	4.7
Feb 2006	3.0	4.8
Mar 2006	3.2	4.7
Apr 2006	3.3	4.7
May 2006	3.1	4.6
Jun 2006	3.1	4.6
Jul 2006	3.0	4.7
Aug 2006	3.2	4.7
Sep 2006	3.2	4.5
Oct 2006	3.2	4.4
Nov 2006	3.1	4.5
Dec 2006	3.0	4.4
Jan 2007	3.3	4.6
Feb 2007	3.1	4.5
Mar 2007	3.3	4.4
Apr 2007	3.4	4.5
May 2007	3.2	4.4
Jun 2007	3.2	4.6
Jul 2007	3.1	4.7
Aug 2007	3.2	4.6
Sep 2007	3.2	4.7
Oct 2007	3.0	4.7
Nov 2007	2.9	4.7
Dec 2007	2.9	5.0
Jan 2008	3.0	5.0
Feb 2008	2.8	4.9
Mar 2008	2.8	5.1
Apr 2008	2.9	5.0
May 2008	2.8	5.4
Jun 2008	2.7	5.6
Jul 2008	2.7	5.8
Aug 2008	2.6	6.1
Sep 2008	2.3	6.1
Oct 2008	2.4	6.5
Nov 2008	2.1	6.8
Dec 2008	2.1	7.3
Jan 2009	2.0	7.8
Feb 2009	2.1	8.3
Mar 2009	1.8	8.7
Apr 2009	1.8	9.0
May 2009	1.8	9.4
Jun 2009	1.8	9.5
Jul 2009	1.7	9.5
Aug 2009	1.7	9.6
Sep 2009	1.9	9.8
Oct 2009	1.8	10.0
Nov 2009	1.8	9.9
Dec 2009	1.8	9.9
Jan 2010	2.0	9.8
Feb 2010	1.9	9.8
Mar 2010	2.0	9.9
Apr 2010	2.4	9.9
May 2010	2.2	9.6
Jun 2010	2.0	9.4
Jul 2010	2.2	9.4
Aug 2010	2.2	9.5
Sep 2010	2.1	9.5
Oct 2010	2.3	9.4
Nov 2010	2.2	9.8
Dec 2010	2.1	9.3
Jan 2011	2.2	9.1
Feb 2011	2.3	9.0
Mar 2011	2.3	9.0
Apr 2011	2.4	9.1
May 2011	2.3	9.0
Jun 2011	2.4	9.1
Jul 2011	2.6	9.0
Aug 2011	2.3	9.0
Sep 2011	2.6	9.0
Oct 2011	2.5	8.8
Nov 2011	2.3	8.6
Dec 2011	2.5	8.5
Jan 2012	2.7	8.3
Feb 2012	2.6	8.3
Mar 2012	2.8	8.2
Apr 2012	2.6	8.2
May 2012	2.7	8.2
Jun 2012	2.8	8.2
Jul 2012	2.7	8.2
Aug 2012	2.7	8.1
Sep 2012	2.6	7.8
Oct 2012	2.7	7.8
Nov 2012	2.5	7.7
Dec 2012	2.6	7.9
Jan 2013	2.7	8.0
Feb 2013	2.8	7.7
Mar 2013	2.8	7.5
Apr 2013	2.8	7.6
May 2013	2.8	7.5
Jun 2013	2.8	7.5
Jul 2013	2.8	7.3
Aug 2013	2.8	7.3
Sep 2013	2.8	7.2
Oct 2013	2.9	7.2
Nov 2013	2.7	6.9
Dec 2013	2.7	6.7
Jan 2014	2.8	6.6
Feb 2014	2.9	6.7
Mar 2014	2.9	6.7
Apr 2014	3.2	6.2
May 2014	3.2	6.3
Jun 2014	3.3	6.1
Jul 2014	3.2	6.2
Aug 2014	3.5	6.2
Sep 2014	3.2	5.9
Oct 2014	3.4	5.7
Nov 2014	3.2	5.8
Dec 2014	3.3	5.6
Jan 2015	3.5	5.7
Feb 2015	3.5	5.5
Mar 2015	3.5	5.4
Apr 2015	3.8	5.4
May 2015	3.7	5.5
Jun 2015	3.5	5.3
Jul 2015	4.0	5.2
Aug 2015	3.7	5.1
Sep 2015	3.7	5.0
Oct 2015	3.7	5.0
Nov 2015	3.5	5.0
Dec 2015	3.6	5.0
Jan 2016	3.8	4.9
Feb 2016	3.7	4.9
Mar 2016	3.9	5.0
Apr 2016	3.8	5.0
May 2016	3.7	4.7
Jun 2016	3.7	4.9
Jul 2016	4.0	4.9
Aug 2016	3.7	4.9
Sep 2016	3.8	4.9
Oct 2016	3.7	4.8
Nov 2016	3.7	4.6
Dec 2016	3.7	4.7

Figure 14. The Beveridge Curve (job openings versus unemployment rate), seasonally adjusted, December 2000–December 2016
Month and year	Job openings rate	Unemployment rate
Dec 2000	3.4	3.9
Jan 2001	3.9	4.2
Feb 2001	3.4	4.2
Mar 2001	3.3	4.3
Apr 2001	3.6	4.4
May 2001	3.3	4.3
Jun 2001	3.1	4.5
Jul 2001	3.3	4.6
Aug 2001	3.0	4.9
Sep 2001	2.9	5.0
Oct 2001	2.7	5.3
Nov 2001	2.5	5.5
Dec 2001	2.5	5.7
Jan 2002	2.8	5.7
Feb 2002	2.5	5.7
Mar 2002	2.6	5.7
Apr 2002	2.6	5.9
May 2002	2.7	5.8
Jun 2002	2.5	5.8
Jul 2002	2.5	5.8
Aug 2002	2.6	5.7
Sep 2002	2.5	5.7
Oct 2002	2.6	5.7
Nov 2002	2.5	5.9
Dec 2002	2.2	6.0
Jan 2003	2.8	5.8
Feb 2003	2.5	5.9
Mar 2003	2.3	5.9
Apr 2003	2.5	6.0
May 2003	2.4	6.1
Jun 2003	2.5	6.3
Jul 2003	2.4	6.2
Aug 2003	2.5	6.1
Sep 2003	2.3	6.1
Oct 2003	2.4	6.0
Nov 2003	2.4	5.8
Dec 2003	2.4	5.7
Jan 2004	2.6	5.7
Feb 2004	2.5	5.6
Mar 2004	2.5	5.8
Apr 2004	2.7	5.6
May 2004	2.7	5.6
Jun 2004	2.5	5.6
Jul 2004	2.9	5.5
Aug 2004	2.7	5.4
Sep 2004	2.8	5.4
Oct 2004	2.8	5.5
Nov 2004	2.4	5.4
Dec 2004	2.7	5.4
Jan 2005	2.7	5.3
Feb 2005	2.8	5.4
Mar 2005	2.8	5.2
Apr 2005	3.1	5.2
May 2005	2.8	5.1
Jun 2005	2.9	5.0
Jul 2005	3.1	5.0
Aug 2005	2.9	4.9
Sep 2005	3.1	5.0
Oct 2005	3.1	5.0
Nov 2005	3.0	5.0
Dec 2005	2.9	4.9
Jan 2006	3.1	4.7
Feb 2006	3.0	4.8
Mar 2006	3.2	4.7
Apr 2006	3.3	4.7
May 2006	3.1	4.6
Jun 2006	3.1	4.6
Jul 2006	3.0	4.7
Aug 2006	3.2	4.7
Sep 2006	3.2	4.5
Oct 2006	3.2	4.4
Nov 2006	3.1	4.5
Dec 2006	3.0	4.4
Jan 2007	3.3	4.6
Feb 2007	3.1	4.5
Mar 2007	3.3	4.4
Apr 2007	3.4	4.5
May 2007	3.2	4.4
Jun 2007	3.2	4.6
Jul 2007	3.1	4.7
Aug 2007	3.2	4.6
Sep 2007	3.2	4.7
Oct 2007	3.0	4.7
Nov 2007	2.9	4.7
Dec 2007	2.9	5.0
Jan 2008	3.0	5.0
Feb 2008	2.8	4.9
Mar 2008	2.8	5.1
Apr 2008	2.9	5.0
May 2008	2.8	5.4
Jun 2008	2.7	5.6
Jul 2008	2.7	5.8
Aug 2008	2.6	6.1
Sep 2008	2.3	6.1
Oct 2008	2.4	6.5
Nov 2008	2.1	6.8
Dec 2008	2.1	7.3
Jan 2009	2.0	7.8
Feb 2009	2.1	8.3
Mar 2009	1.8	8.7
Apr 2009	1.8	9.0
May 2009	1.8	9.4
Jun 2009	1.8	9.5
Jul 2009	1.7	9.5
Aug 2009	1.7	9.6
Sep 2009	1.9	9.8
Oct 2009	1.8	10.0
Nov 2009	1.8	9.9
Dec 2009	1.8	9.9
Jan 2010	2.0	9.8
Feb 2010	1.9	9.8
Mar 2010	2.0	9.9
Apr 2010	2.4	9.9
May 2010	2.2	9.6
Jun 2010	2.0	9.4
Jul 2010	2.2	9.4
Aug 2010	2.2	9.5
Sep 2010	2.1	9.5
Oct 2010	2.3	9.4
Nov 2010	2.2	9.8
Dec 2010	2.1	9.3
Jan 2011	2.2	9.1
Feb 2011	2.3	9.0
Mar 2011	2.3	9.0
Apr 2011	2.4	9.1
May 2011	2.3	9.0
Jun 2011	2.4	9.1
Jul 2011	2.6	9.0
Aug 2011	2.3	9.0
Sep 2011	2.6	9.0
Oct 2011	2.5	8.8
Nov 2011	2.3	8.6
Dec 2011	2.5	8.5
Jan 2012	2.7	8.3
Feb 2012	2.6	8.3
Mar 2012	2.8	8.2
Apr 2012	2.6	8.2
May 2012	2.7	8.2
Jun 2012	2.8	8.2
Jul 2012	2.7	8.2
Aug 2012	2.7	8.1
Sep 2012	2.6	7.8
Oct 2012	2.7	7.8
Nov 2012	2.5	7.7
Dec 2012	2.6	7.9
Jan 2013	2.7	8.0
Feb 2013	2.8	7.7
Mar 2013	2.8	7.5
Apr 2013	2.8	7.6
May 2013	2.8	7.5
Jun 2013	2.8	7.5
Jul 2013	2.8	7.3
Aug 2013	2.8	7.3
Sep 2013	2.8	7.2
Oct 2013	2.9	7.2
Nov 2013	2.7	6.9
Dec 2013	2.7	6.7
Jan 2014	2.8	6.6
Feb 2014	2.9	6.7
Mar 2014	2.9	6.7
Apr 2014	3.2	6.2
May 2014	3.2	6.3
Jun 2014	3.3	6.1
Jul 2014	3.2	6.2
Aug 2014	3.5	6.2
Sep 2014	3.2	5.9
Oct 2014	3.4	5.7
Nov 2014	3.2	5.8
Dec 2014	3.3	5.6
Jan 2015	3.5	5.7
Feb 2015	3.5	5.5
Mar 2015	3.5	5.4
Apr 2015	3.8	5.4
May 2015	3.7	5.5
Jun 2015	3.5	5.3
Jul 2015	4.0	5.2
Aug 2015	3.7	5.1
Sep 2015	3.7	5.0
Oct 2015	3.7	5.0
Nov 2015	3.5	5.0
Dec 2015	3.6	5.0
Jan 2016	3.8	4.9
Feb 2016	3.7	4.9
Mar 2016	3.9	5.0
Apr 2016	3.8	5.0
May 2016	3.7	4.7
Jun 2016	3.7	4.9
Jul 2016	4.0	4.9
Aug 2016	3.7	4.9
Sep 2016	3.8	4.9
Oct 2016	3.7	4.8
Nov 2016	3.7	4.6
Dec 2016	3.7	4.7
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Between December 2000, when the JOLTS program began, and August 2009, the Beveridge Curve followed a fairly constant pattern. From the start of the most recent recession in December 2007 through the end of 2009, the position of the economy along the Beveridge Curve trended lower and to the right as the job openings rate declined and the unemployment rate rose. However, in September 2009, the curve began to shift up and to the right of the historical curve, following a new path as the job openings rate increased and the unemployment rate decreased. The trajectory continued to the right of the original curve throughout 2016. In 2016, points on the Beveridge Curve moved slightly to the left because job openings were 3.8 in January and 3.7 in December. However, the unemployment rate edged down from 4.9 percent in January to 4.7 percent in December, indicating that the economy is still in an expansionary period.

The shift of the Beveridge Curve since September 2009 might be due to both cyclical and structural factors. In 2012, Bart Hibijn and Ayşegül Şahin found that the displacement of a large part of the labor force during the recession resulted in a decline in efficiency in matching workers with jobs.^{^⁸} This decline, together with the extension of unemployment insurance benefits during the recession, led to the shift.^{^⁹} In 2014, Alan Krueger, Judd Cramer, and David Cho found that long-term unemployment increased because of fewer job openings during the recession. These authors theorized that the long-term unemployed have a historically slower rate of reemployment, accounting for the shift.^{^¹⁰} Conversely, Peter A. Diamond and Şahin reasoned that a shift in the Beveridge Curve following a recession is natural and should be interpreted as a cyclical pattern.^{^¹¹} The consensus among these researchers is that the current shift is temporary and will eventually return to the original curve as long-term unemployment falls.

Job openings and hires

The monthly levels and rates of total nonfarm hires have exceeded those of job openings for most of JOLTS history because hires is a full-month measure and job openings is a 1-day snapshot. (See figure 15.) However, following steady growth after the end of the recession, job openings started to grow rapidly in early 2014. At the same time, hires also grew, but at a slower pace than job openings. Job openings exceeding hires may suggest that employers have unmet needs for workers. During the entire year of 2016, job openings exceeded hires while the job openings rate was at or above the hires rate for 11 months of 2016.

⁠

Figure 15. Job openings and hires, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted, December 2000–December 2016
Month and year	Job openings (thousands)	Hires (thousands)
Dec 2000	4,736	5,482
Jan 2001	5,385	5,777
Feb 2001	4,658	5,520
Mar 2001	4,563	5,650
Apr 2001	4,901	5,337
May 2001	4,550	5,395
Jun 2001	4,280	5,061
Jul 2001	4,499	5,164
Aug 2001	4,134	5,041
Sep 2001	3,975	4,941
Oct 2001	3,605	5,033
Nov 2001	3,387	4,902
Dec 2001	3,385	4,767
Jan 2002	3,759	4,849
Feb 2002	3,372	4,900
Mar 2002	3,551	4,644
Apr 2002	3,472	4,940
May 2002	3,596	4,959
Jun 2002	3,365	4,824
Jul 2002	3,411	5,005
Aug 2002	3,490	4,851
Sep 2002	3,308	4,848
Oct 2002	3,535	4,806
Nov 2002	3,415	4,918
Dec 2002	2,943	4,925
Jan 2003	3,824	4,971
Feb 2003	3,381	4,713
Mar 2003	3,052	4,433
Apr 2003	3,340	4,688
May 2003	3,233	4,613
Jun 2003	3,334	4,755
Jul 2003	3,270	4,714
Aug 2003	3,283	4,653
Sep 2003	3,074	4,873
Oct 2003	3,205	4,897
Nov 2003	3,157	4,717
Dec 2003	3,214	5,000
Jan 2004	3,459	4,827
Feb 2004	3,402	4,700
Mar 2004	3,380	5,219
Apr 2004	3,629	5,115
May 2004	3,660	4,939
Jun 2004	3,424	4,948
Jul 2004	3,934	4,880
Aug 2004	3,619	5,091
Sep 2004	3,742	4,985
Oct 2004	3,792	5,092
Nov 2004	3,238	5,180
Dec 2004	3,650	5,246
Jan 2005	3,670	5,207
Feb 2005	3,845	5,273
Mar 2005	3,831	5,216
Apr 2005	4,243	5,270
May 2005	3,884	5,298
Jun 2005	4,022	5,332
Jul 2005	4,319	5,275
Aug 2005	4,073	5,410
Sep 2005	4,237	5,427
Oct 2005	4,277	4,988
Nov 2005	4,220	5,308
Dec 2005	4,064	5,103
Jan 2006	4,298	5,196
Feb 2006	4,229	5,329
Mar 2006	4,493	5,372
Apr 2006	4,680	5,113
May 2006	4,389	5,489
Jun 2006	4,349	5,278
Jul 2006	4,154	5,372
Aug 2006	4,560	5,208
Sep 2006	4,516	5,214
Oct 2006	4,472	5,179
Nov 2006	4,341	5,528
Dec 2006	4,278	5,223
Jan 2007	4,630	5,245
Feb 2007	4,465	5,202
Mar 2007	4,666	5,380
Apr 2007	4,824	5,158
May 2007	4,550	5,268
Jun 2007	4,608	5,187
Jul 2007	4,490	5,075
Aug 2007	4,555	5,106
Sep 2007	4,523	5,145
Oct 2007	4,300	5,227
Nov 2007	4,156	5,162
Dec 2007	4,123	4,968
Jan 2008	4,260	4,868
Feb 2008	4,042	4,943
Mar 2008	4,001	4,766
Apr 2008	4,098	4,875
May 2008	3,960	4,602
Jun 2008	3,767	4,751
Jul 2008	3,821	4,471
Aug 2008	3,665	4,522
Sep 2008	3,264	4,316
Oct 2008	3,292	4,454
Nov 2008	2,956	3,954
Dec 2008	2,830	4,218
Jan 2009	2,767	4,158
Feb 2009	2,791	4,011
Mar 2009	2,491	3,730
Apr 2009	2,357	3,853
May 2009	2,427	3,793
Jun 2009	2,428	3,675
Jul 2009	2,196	3,854
Aug 2009	2,306	3,744
Sep 2009	2,478	3,859
Oct 2009	2,400	3,767
Nov 2009	2,350	3,992
Dec 2009	2,407	3,806
Jan 2010	2,636	3,880
Feb 2010	2,578	3,781
Mar 2010	2,666	4,182
Apr 2010	3,220	4,082
May 2010	2,891	4,376
Jun 2010	2,664	4,064
Jul 2010	2,965	4,116
Aug 2010	2,920	3,910
Sep 2010	2,767	3,978
Oct 2010	3,033	4,061
Nov 2010	2,914	4,101
Dec 2010	2,857	4,155
Jan 2011	2,939	3,910
Feb 2011	3,056	4,061
Mar 2011	3,130	4,291
Apr 2011	3,287	4,218
May 2011	3,114	4,116
Jun 2011	3,224	4,297
Jul 2011	3,475	4,139
Aug 2011	3,168	4,168
Sep 2011	3,495	4,320
Oct 2011	3,421	4,239
Nov 2011	3,153	4,244
Dec 2011	3,369	4,234
Jan 2012	3,725	4,292
Feb 2012	3,500	4,419
Mar 2012	3,831	4,465
Apr 2012	3,643	4,299
May 2012	3,694	4,445
Jun 2012	3,799	4,432
Jul 2012	3,694	4,269
Aug 2012	3,683	4,447
Sep 2012	3,521	4,238
Oct 2012	3,708	4,299
Nov 2012	3,521	4,393
Dec 2012	3,570	4,360
Jan 2013	3,790	4,422
Feb 2013	3,974	4,509
Mar 2013	3,872	4,293
Apr 2013	3,951	4,533
May 2013	3,873	4,572
Jun 2013	3,924	4,409
Jul 2013	3,896	4,529
Aug 2013	3,968	4,732
Sep 2013	3,959	4,681
Oct 2013	4,105	4,444
Nov 2013	3,837	4,588
Dec 2013	3,742	4,500
Jan 2014	3,980	4,615
Feb 2014	4,101	4,627
Mar 2014	4,167	4,758
Apr 2014	4,569	4,812
May 2014	4,594	4,796
Jun 2014	4,680	4,817
Jul 2014	4,648	5,001
Aug 2014	5,026	4,839
Sep 2014	4,625	5,078
Oct 2014	4,906	5,118
Nov 2014	4,684	5,027
Dec 2014	4,795	5,165
Jan 2015	5,104	5,027
Feb 2015	5,124	4,991
Mar 2015	5,125	5,090
Apr 2015	5,632	5,095
May 2015	5,421	5,143
Jun 2015	5,189	5,162
Jul 2015	5,891	5,136
Aug 2015	5,445	5,129
Sep 2015	5,414	5,150
Oct 2015	5,484	5,304
Nov 2015	5,221	5,323
Dec 2015	5,374	5,504
Jan 2016	5,713	5,117
Feb 2016	5,566	5,447
Mar 2016	5,852	5,297
Apr 2016	5,643	5,038
May 2016	5,582	5,153
Jun 2016	5,535	5,176
Jul 2016	5,973	5,328
Aug 2016	5,491	5,288
Sep 2016	5,666	5,179
Oct 2016	5,587	5,200
Nov 2016	5,631	5,263
Dec 2016	5,539	5,303
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The historical dynamic between hires and job openings levels has varied by industry. Hires have almost always been greater than job openings in mining and logging; construction; retail trade; real estate and rental and leasing; professional and business services; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services. In other industries (durable goods manufacturing; wholesale trade; transportation, warehousing, and utilities; and educational services), the dynamic has gone back and forth over time, with hires exceeding job openings in some months and job openings exceeding hires in other months. Job openings has regularly exceeded hires in information; finance and insurance; and health care and social assistance.

Job openings grew at a faster rate than hires in 10 out of 19 industries from 2015 to 2016. The largest difference was in construction, where job openings increased by 32.0 percent and hires increased by only 0.6 percent. (See table 7.) Other industries had mixed increases and decreases in job openings, such as other services, where job openings increased by 18.8 percent and hires decreased by 11.5 percent. Mining and logging had the largest decrease in job openings—24.4 percent—no change in hires.

Hires and separations

We see a more complete picture by analyzing hires and separations together than analyzing each separately, because the combined analysis shows gross worker flows.^{^¹²} Hires are a procyclical measure, rising during periods of economic growth and decreasing during periods of economic contraction. Total separations are more intricate; each component of total separations can provide information about the economic climate. Quits, which are voluntary separations, measure workers’ ability or willingness to leave their jobs and are procyclical. Layoffs and discharges, which are involuntary separations initiated by the employer, are countercyclical. “Other separations” are a relatively small part of total separations and are unlikely to influence any overall trend in total separations. Quits are usually greater than layoffs and discharges. The only period in which layoffs and discharges outnumbered quits since the inception of the data series was during and just following the most recent recession. The composition of total separations can be seen in figure 16. Since the recession, quits have made up a larger proportion of total separations each year, while layoffs and discharges made up a smaller proportion of total separations each year.

Figure 16. Composition of total separations, 2007-09 and 2016, pie chart

Figure 16. Composition of total separations, 2007–09 recession and 2016
Type of separation	Percent distribution
Type of separation	2007–09	2016
Total	100.0	100.0
Quits	48.9	59.7
Layoffs and discharges	44.3	33.0
Other separations	6.8	7.3
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

View Chart Data

Hires have outnumbered total separations for most of JOLTS history, but during the recession, separations exceeded hires. (See figure 17.) Although both hires and total separations declined during the recession, hires declined at a faster pace and fell below separations in mid-2008. By November 2009, hires had increased and total separations decreased, bringing the two series to about the same level. In 2016, hires and total separations both trended upward: hires increased 3.6 percent, and total separations increased 1.0 percent.

⁠

Figure 17. Hires and total separations, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted, December 2000–December 2016
Month and year	Hires (thousands)	Total separations (thousands)
Dec 2000	5,482	5,235
Jan 2001	5,777	6,066
Feb 2001	5,520	5,383
Mar 2001	5,650	5,655
Apr 2001	5,337	5,545
May 2001	5,395	5,439
Jun 2001	5,061	5,252
Jul 2001	5,164	5,303
Aug 2001	5,041	5,142
Sep 2001	4,941	5,169
Oct 2001	5,033	5,501
Nov 2001	4,902	5,053
Dec 2001	4,767	4,783
Jan 2002	4,849	5,202
Feb 2002	4,900	4,953
Mar 2002	4,644	4,609
Apr 2002	4,940	5,027
May 2002	4,959	4,979
Jun 2002	4,824	4,793
Jul 2002	5,005	5,119
Aug 2002	4,851	4,860
Sep 2002	4,848	4,890
Oct 2002	4,806	4,805
Nov 2002	4,918	4,761
Dec 2002	4,925	4,918
Jan 2003	4,971	5,015
Feb 2003	4,713	4,779
Mar 2003	4,433	4,586
Apr 2003	4,688	4,781
May 2003	4,613	4,671
Jun 2003	4,755	4,783
Jul 2003	4,714	4,750
Aug 2003	4,653	4,747
Sep 2003	4,873	4,752
Oct 2003	4,897	4,789
Nov 2003	4,717	4,611
Dec 2003	5,000	4,732
Jan 2004	4,827	4,795
Feb 2004	4,700	4,571
Mar 2004	5,219	4,874
Apr 2004	5,115	4,900
May 2004	4,939	4,654
Jun 2004	4,948	4,881
Jul 2004	4,880	4,885
Aug 2004	5,091	4,985
Sep 2004	4,985	4,807
Oct 2004	5,092	4,781
Nov 2004	5,180	5,098
Dec 2004	5,246	4,991
Jan 2005	5,207	5,177
Feb 2005	5,273	5,006
Mar 2005	5,216	5,071
Apr 2005	5,270	4,970
May 2005	5,298	5,105
Jun 2005	5,332	5,074
Jul 2005	5,275	4,917
Aug 2005	5,410	5,220
Sep 2005	5,427	5,305
Oct 2005	4,988	4,960
Nov 2005	5,308	4,949
Dec 2005	5,103	4,945
Jan 2006	5,196	5,043
Feb 2006	5,329	4,983
Mar 2006	5,372	5,037
Apr 2006	5,113	5,012
May 2006	5,489	5,417
Jun 2006	5,278	5,136
Jul 2006	5,372	5,183
Aug 2006	5,208	5,001
Sep 2006	5,214	5,007
Oct 2006	5,179	5,171
Nov 2006	5,528	5,291
Dec 2006	5,223	5,108
Jan 2007	5,245	5,144
Feb 2007	5,202	5,094
Mar 2007	5,380	5,123
Apr 2007	5,158	5,138
May 2007	5,268	5,080
Jun 2007	5,187	5,065
Jul 2007	5,075	5,118
Aug 2007	5,106	5,105
Sep 2007	5,145	5,031
Oct 2007	5,227	5,129
Nov 2007	5,162	5,031
Dec 2007	4,968	4,926
Jan 2008	4,868	5,005
Feb 2008	4,943	5,010
Mar 2008	4,766	4,762
Apr 2008	4,875	5,121
May 2008	4,602	4,728
Jun 2008	4,751	4,900
Jul 2008	4,471	4,713
Aug 2008	4,522	4,815
Sep 2008	4,316	4,751
Oct 2008	4,454	4,895
Nov 2008	3,954	4,605
Dec 2008	4,218	4,814
Jan 2009	4,158	4,974
Feb 2009	4,011	4,674
Mar 2009	3,730	4,536
Apr 2009	3,853	4,655
May 2009	3,793	4,146
Jun 2009	3,675	4,192
Jul 2009	3,854	4,297
Aug 2009	3,744	4,060
Sep 2009	3,859	4,084
Oct 2009	3,767	3,951
Nov 2009	3,992	3,873
Dec 2009	3,806	3,989
Jan 2010	3,880	3,894
Feb 2010	3,781	3,830
Mar 2010	4,182	3,949
Apr 2010	4,082	3,892
May 2010	4,376	3,831
Jun 2010	4,064	4,223
Jul 2010	4,116	4,278
Aug 2010	3,910	4,009
Sep 2010	3,978	4,026
Oct 2010	4,061	3,784
Nov 2010	4,101	3,843
Dec 2010	4,155	4,026
Jan 2011	3,910	3,908
Feb 2011	4,061	3,838
Mar 2011	4,291	3,980
Apr 2011	4,218	3,924
May 2011	4,116	4,035
Jun 2011	4,297	4,094
Jul 2011	4,139	4,082
Aug 2011	4,168	4,120
Sep 2011	4,320	4,115
Oct 2011	4,239	4,011
Nov 2011	4,244	4,001
Dec 2011	4,234	3,994
Jan 2012	4,292	4,010
Feb 2012	4,419	4,175
Mar 2012	4,465	4,134
Apr 2012	4,299	4,260
May 2012	4,445	4,336
Jun 2012	4,432	4,367
Jul 2012	4,269	4,138
Aug 2012	4,447	4,360
Sep 2012	4,238	4,059
Oct 2012	4,299	4,194
Nov 2012	4,393	4,171
Dec 2012	4,360	4,038
Jan 2013	4,422	4,297
Feb 2013	4,509	4,156
Mar 2013	4,293	4,113
Apr 2013	4,533	4,376
May 2013	4,572	4,363
Jun 2013	4,409	4,267
Jul 2013	4,529	4,384
Aug 2013	4,732	4,517
Sep 2013	4,681	4,537
Oct 2013	4,444	4,288
Nov 2013	4,588	4,268
Dec 2013	4,500	4,335
Jan 2014	4,615	4,443
Feb 2014	4,627	4,436
Mar 2014	4,758	4,452
Apr 2014	4,812	4,518
May 2014	4,796	4,565
Jun 2014	4,817	4,552
Jul 2014	5,001	4,784
Aug 2014	4,839	4,627
Sep 2014	5,078	4,882
Oct 2014	5,118	4,927
Nov 2014	5,027	4,633
Dec 2014	5,165	4,789
Jan 2015	5,027	4,843
Feb 2015	4,991	4,705
Mar 2015	5,090	4,986
Apr 2015	5,095	4,906
May 2015	5,143	4,812
Jun 2015	5,162	5,011
Jul 2015	5,136	4,849
Aug 2015	5,129	4,958
Sep 2015	5,150	5,067
Oct 2015	5,304	4,983
Nov 2015	5,323	5,003
Dec 2015	5,504	5,223
Jan 2016	5,117	5,033
Feb 2016	5,447	5,183
Mar 2016	5,297	5,040
Apr 2016	5,038	4,962
May 2016	5,153	5,101
Jun 2016	5,176	4,940
Jul 2016	5,328	5,001
Aug 2016	5,288	5,059
Sep 2016	5,179	4,942
Oct 2016	5,200	5,041
Nov 2016	5,263	5,075
Dec 2016	5,303	5,084
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Conclusion

JOLTS data for 2016 show that the labor market continued to improve, but at a slower pace than in 2015 and 2014. The number of job openings increased to the highest levels since the series began in 2000, indicating a rise in the demand for labor. However, in 2016 the growth in average monthly job openings slowed to 5.2 percent, compared with 17.6 percent in 2015. Annual hires also had smaller increases, up by 1.1 percent in 2016 versus 5.8 percent in 2015. Annual quits grew steadily over the year, increasing by 7.0 percent, which was slightly less than the 10.3-percent increase in 2015. Layoffs and discharges fell slightly and remained below prerecession levels. Although the increases were smaller in 2016, the growth of jobs and worker flows signaled continued confidence among employers and workers. Employers laid off fewer workers and hired additional workers. Workers were assured enough of job prospects and had sufficient incentives to leave their current positions.

Suggested citation:

Blanka M. Thibaud, "Job openings, hires, and separations rise, but at a slower pace, in 2016," Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 2017, https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2017.20

Notes

¹ The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments. JOLTS, however, excludes agricultural establishments (NAICS 11) except logging (NAICS 1133) and private households (NAICS 814110).

² The JOLTS sample provides data for four census regions: Northeast, South, Midwest, and West.

³ National Bureau of Economic Research, “U.S. business cycle expansions and contractions,” http://www.nber.org/cycles/.

⁴ From U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of methods, chapter 18, “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey,” p. 2, https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch18.pdf.

⁵ According to the Handbook of methods, “Job openings are a stock, or point-in-time, measurement on the last business day of each month. Only jobs still open on the last day of the month are counted. For the same reason that job openings are not be cumulated throughout each month, annual figures for job openings are not created by summing the monthly estimates. Because hires and separations are flow measures and are cumulated over the month with a total reported for the month, these annual figures are calculated by summing the monthly estimates.” From Handbook of methods, chapter 18, “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey,” p. 7, https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch18.pdf.

⁶ For data on employment levels, see U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Current Employment Statistics—CES (National),” https://www.bls.gov/ces/.

⁷ Named for the British economist William Beveridge (1879–1963).

⁸ Bart Hobijn and Ayşegül Şahin, “Beveridge curve shifts across countries since the Great Recession,” paper presented at the 13th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference, Washington, DC, November 8 and 9, 2012, https://www.imf.org/external/np/res/seminars/2012/arc/pdf/HS.pdf.

⁹ Regis Barnichon, Michael Elsby, Bart Hobijn, and Ayşegül Şahin, “Which industries are shifting the Beveridge curve?” Monthly Labor Review, June 2012, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2012/06/art2full.pdf.

¹⁰ Alan Krueger, Judd Cramer, and David Cho, “Are the long-term unemployed on the margins of the labor market?” Brookings papers on economic activity, Spring 2014, https://www.brookings.edu/bpea-articles/are-the-long-term-unemployed-on-the-margins-of-the-labor-market/.

¹¹ Peter A. Diamond and Ayşegül Şahin, “Shifts in the Beveridge curve,” staff report no. 687 (Federal Reserve Bank of New York, August 2014), https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/staff_reports/sr687.pdf.

¹² Gross worker flows refer to the net changes in the number of people employed and unemployed from month to month. See U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_flows.htm.

Job openings, hires, and separations rise, but at a slower pace, in 2016

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

Definitions of JOLTS terms4

Job openings

Hires

Separations

Job openings

Job openings by industry and region

Hires

Hires by industry and region

Total separations

Total separations by industry and region

Quits

Quits by industry and region

Layoffs and discharges

Layoffs and discharges by industry and region

Other separations

Other separations by industry and region

Job openings and employment

Unemployed people per job opening

Beveridge Curve

Job openings and hires

Hires and separations

Conclusion

Definitions of JOLTS terms^{^⁴}