On a seasonally adjusted basis, there were 3.6 million job openings on the last business day of September—essentially unchanged from August. The number of openings was little changed in all industries except government and professional and business services, where the number decreased.
The level of total nonfarm job openings in September was up from 2.4 million at the end of the recession in June 2009.
The hires rate (3.1 percent) was little changed in all industries except state and local government, where it declined. The separations rate (3.0 percent) declined.
Over the 12 months ending in September, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for all industries—total nonfarm, total private, and government.
These data are from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. To learn more, see "Job Openings and Labor Turnover — September 2012" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-12-2202. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. More charts featuring data on job openings, hires, and employment separations can be found in Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Highlights: September 2012 (PDF).
United States Department of Labor
