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The number of job openings in October was 3.3 million, essentially unchanged from 3.4 million in September.
Although the number of job openings remained below the 4.4 million openings when the recession began in December 2007, the level in October was 1.2 million higher than in July 2009 (the most recent trough for the series). The number of job openings has increased 35 percent since the end of the recession in June 2009.
In October, the hires rate (3.1 percent) and separations rate (3.0 percent) were little changed over the month.
The number of hires in October was 4.0 million, up from 3.6 million in October 2009 (the most recent trough) but below the 5.0 million hires recorded when the recession began in December 2007.
The total separations figure includes voluntary quits, involuntary layoffs and discharges, and other separations, including retirements. Total separations is also referred to as turnover.
These data are from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, and are seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see "Job Openings and Labor Turnover — October 2011" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-11-1745.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Job openings and labor turnover in October 2011 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2011/ted_20111215.htm (visited October 31, 2024).