Job openings and labor turnover in February 2011

In February, the job openings rate (2.3 percent) increased over the month.

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The number of job openings in February was 3.1 million, an increase from 2.7 million in January. The job openings level has trended up since the end of the recession in June 2009 but remains well below the 4.4 million openings when the recession began in December 2007.

The hires rate (3.0 percent) and total separations rate (2.9 percent) were little changed over the month.

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The number of hires was little changed in every industry and decreased in the West region. At 3.9 million, the number of hires in February was below the 5.0 million hires in December 2007 when the recession began.

The total separations, or turnover, rate was little changed at 2.9 percent for total nonfarm in February. Over the 12 months ending in February, the total separations rate (not seasonally adjusted) was essentially unchanged for total nonfarm, total private, and government.

These data are from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey program. To learn more, see "Job Openings and Labor Turnover – February 2011" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-11-0511. Data for the most recent month are preliminary.