Job openings and labor turnover in May 2011

On a seasonally adjusted basis, both the job openings rate (2.2 percent) and the number of job openings (3.0 million) were unchanged in May.

[Chart data]

The number of job openings in May was 862,000 higher than in July 2009 (the series trough), but remains well below the 4.4 million openings when the recession began in December 2007

The hires rate (3.1 percent) and separations rate (3.1 percent) in May were little changed from the previous month.

[Chart data]

At 4.1 million in May, the number of hires is up from 3.6 million in October 2009 (the series trough) but still below the 5.0 million hires in December 2007. Over the past 12 months, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) showed no significant over-the-year increase in any industry or region.

The total separations rate, which includes voluntary quits, involuntary layoffs and discharges, and other separations such as retirements, was unchanged in May and has changed little over the past year.

These data are from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. To learn more, see "Job Openings and Labor Turnover – May 2011" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-11-1032.