Quits and layoffs and discharges among industries in March 2015
May 14, 2015
The number of employees who quit their jobs usually rises with an improving economy and falls with a faltering economy. Quits are usually voluntary separations started by employees. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations started by an employer; they typically rise when the economy worsens and fall when the economy improves. In March 2015, there were 1.8 quits per each layoff and discharge, up from 0.8 in March 2009, during the 2007–2009 recession.
Among private industries, education and health services and leisure and hospitality had the highest ratio of quits to layoffs and discharges, 2.8 in March 2015. Mining and logging (0.6) and construction (0.7) had the lowest ratios.
Ratio of quits per layoff and discharge, selected industries, not seasonally adjusted, January 2005–March 2015
Month
Total private
Mining and logging
Construction
Manufacturing
Trade, transportation, and utilities
Information
Financial activities
Professional and business services
Education and health services
Leisure and hospitality
Other services
Jan 2005
1.2
1.2
0.4
0.9
1.2
1.8
1.3
1.1
2.2
1.8
1.5
Feb 2005
1.3
1.2
0.5
1.3
1.2
3.2
1.3
1.1
2.1
2.0
2.1
Mar 2005
1.5
2.4
0.9
1.5
1.8
1.7
1.8
1.1
2.0
1.8
1.8
Apr 2005
1.6
1.9
0.7
1.2
1.9
3.0
1.5
1.2
2.1
2.5
3.6
May 2005
1.8
3.5
0.9
1.1
2.0
1.8
2.4
1.6
1.9
2.7
1.7
Jun 2005
1.6
2.0
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.9
5.1
0.9
2.1
1.7
2.7
Jul 2005
1.7
2.3
1.2
1.7
2.1
1.9
2.7
0.8
2.6
3.2
3.3
Aug 2005
1.9
1.7
1.0
1.8
2.8
3.4
2.9
1.3
2.5
2.9
1.0
Sep 2005
1.7
1.0
1.1
1.6
1.8
3.4
1.7
1.5
2.7
1.7
1.6
Oct 2005
1.6
1.3
1.1
1.5
1.9
3.9
1.5
1.0
2.6
2.1
2.2
Nov 2005
1.5
2.3
0.7
1.1
1.7
2.3
1.5
1.0
2.6
2.0
4.0
Dec 2005
1.2
0.7
0.7
0.9
1.1
2.3
1.5
0.8
2.0
2.2
1.7
Jan 2006
1.3
2.0
0.6
1.2
1.0
5.1
1.8
1.3
2.0
2.2
1.7
Feb 2006
1.7
1.3
0.8
1.5
1.7
2.9
1.8
1.1
2.8
3.0
1.7
Mar 2006
2.0
1.4
0.9
1.2
2.5
2.9
1.6
1.7
2.3
2.9
4.9
Apr 2006
1.8
1.0
1.5
1.3
2.3
2.1
1.7
1.5
2.0
2.1
0.9
May 2006
1.8
3.7
1.3
1.6
2.1
4.1
2.5
1.3
1.4
3.2
1.9
Jun 2006
2.1
2.7
1.7
1.3
1.8
3.5
2.8
1.6
2.1
3.7
1.9
Jul 2006
2.0
3.0
1.1
1.9
2.4
2.9
2.5
1.3
2.1
3.1
2.6
Aug 2006
2.2
3.0
1.2
1.8
2.8
4.0
2.0
2.1
2.8
2.8
1.3
Sep 2006
1.8
1.9
0.8
1.2
2.2
3.9
2.2
1.5
2.7
2.1
1.6
Oct 2006
1.6
2.0
0.7
1.5
2.1
2.3
2.7
1.3
2.6
1.8
1.1
Nov 2006
1.4
1.5
0.4
1.2
2.0
2.3
1.8
1.2
2.8
1.5
1.5
Dec 2006
1.3
1.4
0.4
1.1
1.3
1.5
1.3
1.1
2.6
2.4
1.1
Jan 2007
1.4
1.0
0.5
1.2
1.3
1.0
2.0
1.5
2.2
2.1
1.9
Feb 2007
1.6
1.7
0.5
1.2
1.9
1.4
1.9
1.3
2.6
2.8
3.3
Mar 2007
1.7
3.3
0.8
1.5
2.0
2.8
1.5
1.3
2.0
2.7
2.2
Apr 2007
1.7
2.7
0.8
1.4
2.3
3.2
2.5
1.0
2.4
2.6
0.9
May 2007
2.0
2.8
0.9
1.6
2.3
2.0
2.7
1.7
2.1
2.7
3.4
Jun 2007
1.7
3.8
0.7
1.5
2.4
2.6
2.3
1.4
1.4
2.5
1.7
Jul 2007
1.9
3.0
1.1
1.3
1.8
1.5
1.3
1.6
2.8
4.4
1.9
Aug 2007
1.9
2.4
0.9
1.8
2.2
2.2
2.1
1.8
2.1
3.1
1.1
Sep 2007
1.3
3.1
0.6
1.2
1.8
2.4
1.4
1.2
1.8
1.3
1.2
Oct 2007
1.4
1.5
0.6
1.2
1.6
2.5
1.5
1.0
2.2
2.0
2.7
Nov 2007
1.2
1.1
0.5
0.8
1.2
2.4
1.3
0.9
2.2
2.2
1.1
Dec 2007
1.1
1.0
0.4
0.9
1.3
1.9
0.9
0.7
2.2
2.5
1.9
Jan 2008
1.2
1.5
0.4
1.1
1.2
1.4
1.5
0.9
1.9
2.3
1.9
Feb 2008
1.4
1.3
0.6
1.2
1.5
2.1
2.0
1.3
1.9
2.1
1.6
Mar 2008
1.5
2.0
0.5
1.4
1.9
1.0
1.6
1.1
2.2
2.8
1.7
Apr 2008
1.7
1.9
0.7
1.0
1.9
2.0
1.5
1.3
2.5
2.9
2.8
May 2008
1.7
3.2
0.6
1.1
2.1
2.3
1.9
1.9
1.2
2.9
1.1
Jun 2008
1.5
3.2
0.7
1.0
1.4
1.1
1.6
1.3
1.5
3.1
2.8
Jul 2008
1.5
1.6
0.9
1.0
1.6
2.1
1.0
1.3
1.6
3.4
0.9
Aug 2008
1.3
3.8
0.8
1.1
1.8
2.7
1.1
1.1
1.7
1.7
0.7
Sep 2008
1.3
2.5
0.4
0.8
1.7
0.9
1.5
1.1
2.1
1.7
1.4
Oct 2008
1.1
2.0
0.4
0.7
1.2
1.0
1.5
1.0
2.2
1.7
1.0
Nov 2008
0.8
0.7
0.2
0.4
1.0
0.5
1.0
0.6
1.8
1.3
1.0
Dec 2008
0.6
0.5
0.2
0.2
0.7
0.6
0.7
0.5
1.0
1.4
1.0
Jan 2009
0.6
0.7
0.1
0.3
0.8
0.7
0.4
0.6
1.4
1.4
0.7
Feb 2009
0.8
0.5
0.2
0.3
0.8
0.6
0.6
0.7
1.2
1.8
2.2
Mar 2009
0.8
0.3
0.3
0.3
1.0
1.0
0.8
0.7
1.6
1.3
0.8
Apr 2009
0.7
0.4
0.2
0.3
0.8
0.9
0.7
0.5
1.2
1.6
1.7
May 2009
0.9
0.3
0.3
0.4
1.1
1.4
0.7
1.0
1.6
1.8
0.9
Jun 2009
1.0
0.6
0.4
0.5
1.2
0.9
0.7
0.8
1.2
1.8
1.0
Jul 2009
0.9
0.3
0.3
0.5
1.2
1.5
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.9
0.6
Aug 2009
1.0
1.3
0.3
0.6
1.4
1.8
0.8
0.8
1.2
1.6
0.5
Sep 2009
0.9
0.5
0.3
0.6
1.0
1.5
0.9
0.8
1.6
1.1
0.8
Oct 2009
0.8
0.4
0.2
0.4
1.1
1.2
0.8
0.8
1.9
1.0
0.9
Nov 2009
0.8
0.3
0.3
0.3
1.0
1.1
0.8
0.6
1.5
1.0
1.2
Dec 2009
0.6
0.2
0.2
0.3
0.6
0.5
0.8
0.5
1.4
1.1
0.6
Jan 2010
0.7
0.7
0.2
0.3
0.6
0.4
0.7
0.6
1.5
1.5
0.9
Feb 2010
1.0
0.9
0.3
0.6
1.4
1.0
1.2
0.8
1.3
2.1
0.4
Mar 2010
1.1
0.9
0.4
0.6
1.2
1.8
1.5
0.8
1.8
1.7
1.5
Apr 2010
1.3
1.0
0.2
0.7
1.8
1.5
1.7
1.0
2.0
2.1
2.0
May 2010
1.2
0.8
0.3
0.9
1.9
0.9
1.3
0.9
1.4
1.7
1.7
Jun 2010
1.3
1.6
0.4
1.0
1.4
1.3
2.5
1.3
1.2
1.6
1.5
Jul 2010
1.1
1.7
0.3
0.8
1.6
1.2
1.3
1.0
0.9
2.0
1.3
Aug 2010
1.4
2.0
0.5
1.0
2.1
1.6
1.8
1.5
1.4
2.0
0.6
Sep 2010
1.2
1.1
0.4
0.8
1.8
1.7
1.9
1.0
1.3
1.3
1.4
Oct 2010
1.1
1.2
0.3
0.6
1.4
1.6
0.9
1.2
2.2
1.2
0.9
Nov 2010
0.8
0.7
0.2
0.5
1.3
1.5
1.0
0.7
1.6
1.0
0.9
Dec 2010
0.8
0.5
0.2
0.5
0.8
1.2
1.1
0.6
1.2
1.7
2.6
Jan 2011
0.8
0.6
0.2
0.6
0.7
1.0
0.7
0.8
1.6
1.5
1.1
Feb 2011
1.1
2.8
0.2
0.7
1.4
1.4
1.2
1.1
1.7
2.1
1.0
Mar 2011
1.3
2.3
0.3
1.1
1.7
0.8
2.3
1.1
2.2
1.6
1.4
Apr 2011
1.3
1.0
0.4
1.1
2.1
2.5
2.0
0.8
2.2
2.4
0.9
May 2011
1.3
1.7
0.4
1.0
2.5
1.5
2.2
0.9
1.6
1.7
1.1
Jun 2011
1.2
1.8
0.4
1.3
1.8
1.6
1.5
0.9
1.1
2.1
1.0
Jul 2011
1.3
2.8
0.4
1.2
1.7
1.4
2.3
1.2
1.3
2.1
0.9
Aug 2011
1.5
2.4
0.4
1.1
2.2
2.7
2.0
1.2
1.7
2.1
0.9
Sep 2011
1.2
2.3
0.4
0.9
2.1
2.0
1.2
1.0
2.1
1.3
0.8
Oct 2011
1.1
3.2
0.4
1.1
1.8
1.5
1.3
0.9
1.8
1.0
0.8
Nov 2011
0.9
1.3
0.3
0.8
1.2
1.7
1.1
0.8
1.3
0.8
0.9
Dec 2011
0.8
0.9
0.2
0.7
1.0
0.9
1.5
0.6
1.5
1.3
0.8
Jan 2012
0.9
0.9
0.2
0.8
0.8
1.3
1.4
1.0
1.5
1.2
1.1
Feb 2012
1.2
1.1
0.3
0.9
1.7
1.0
1.7
0.9
2.3
1.9
1.1
Mar 2012
1.5
1.2
0.4
1.2
1.8
1.5
2.0
1.1
2.4
2.1
1.6
Apr 2012
1.2
1.5
0.4
1.2
1.9
1.3
2.2
0.8
1.8
1.9
0.7
May 2012
1.3
1.3
0.4
1.3
1.8
1.7
1.7
0.9
1.5
2.2
1.2
Jun 2012
1.4
1.7
0.5
1.0
1.9
2.2
2.2
0.9
1.1
2.7
1.9
Jul 2012
1.5
3.0
0.4
1.3
2.1
1.9
2.1
1.0
1.6
2.7
2.1
Aug 2012
1.4
1.6
0.4
1.4
1.8
1.6
1.9
0.9
1.8
1.8
1.5
Sep 2012
1.1
1.8
0.3
1.0
1.8
1.5
2.9
0.8
1.9
1.3
0.6
Oct 2012
1.1
2.0
0.6
0.8
1.8
1.9
1.4
0.8
1.7
1.2
0.7
Nov 2012
0.9
1.1
0.3
0.8
1.6
1.7
1.1
0.7
2.1
1.1
0.6
Dec 2012
1.0
0.5
0.2
0.8
0.9
2.1
1.1
0.9
1.7
1.6
1.2
Jan 2013
1.1
0.8
0.5
0.8
1.0
1.5
1.2
0.7
2.2
1.9
2.1
Feb 2013
1.4
1.1
0.5
0.9
1.7
1.3
2.0
1.0
1.9
2.9
2.6
Mar 2013
1.3
2.4
0.4
1.1
1.6
2.0
2.1
0.9
2.4
2.2
1.0
Apr 2013
1.4
1.2
0.6
1.4
2.1
1.4
2.2
0.9
2.0
2.0
0.9
May 2013
1.4
1.5
0.6
1.2
1.5
1.5
2.0
1.1
1.5
2.3
1.2
Jun 2013
1.5
2.4
0.8
1.3
2.0
1.1
2.1
1.3
1.5
2.1
0.9
Jul 2013
1.7
1.8
0.7
1.4
1.8
1.7
2.0
1.7
1.9
2.6
1.3
Aug 2013
1.6
1.7
0.7
1.1
2.8
1.7
2.1
1.2
1.8
2.0
1.3
Sep 2013
1.4
1.2
0.6
1.2
2.6
0.9
1.2
1.2
1.9
1.1
1.4
Oct 2013
1.6
0.8
0.5
1.2
2.1
1.6
1.2
1.4
2.4
1.9
1.6
Nov 2013
1.3
1.0
0.3
1.0
1.7
1.5
1.3
1.4
1.7
1.7
1.7
Dec 2013
1.0
0.8
0.2
0.8
1.0
1.1
1.0
1.0
1.8
1.4
1.3
Jan 2014
1.1
0.8
0.5
0.8
0.9
1.5
0.7
1.1
1.4
1.6
1.7
Feb 2014
1.5
1.4
0.6
1.2
1.8
1.8
1.6
1.1
2.3
2.4
1.4
Mar 2014
1.7
1.1
0.7
1.7
2.1
1.3
1.4
1.3
1.6
2.6
2.2
Apr 2014
1.5
1.9
1.0
1.2
1.9
1.4
1.4
1.0
1.8
2.2
2.9
May 2014
1.6
1.2
1.0
1.7
2.3
2.1
1.6
1.1
1.9
1.9
1.9
Jun 2014
1.6
2.0
1.1
1.2
2.1
1.6
1.7
1.2
1.7
2.3
1.6
Jul 2014
1.7
2.0
0.6
1.9
1.8
1.4
3.0
1.4
2.2
2.5
1.1
Aug 2014
1.8
2.1
1.1
1.6
2.3
2.5
2.7
1.1
1.9
2.7
1.4
Sep 2014
1.6
1.5
0.9
1.2
2.4
1.6
4.1
1.2
2.0
1.5
2.0
Oct 2014
1.5
1.5
0.6
1.1
2.1
1.9
2.3
1.1
2.3
1.8
1.3
Nov 2014
1.4
0.9
0.3
0.9
1.9
1.9
2.0
1.0
2.7
2.1
1.4
Dec 2014
1.1
0.5
0.3
1.0
1.3
1.1
1.5
0.8
1.9
2.0
1.6
Jan 2015
1.3
0.4
0.4
1.1
1.0
1.2
1.6
1.2
2.9
2.2
1.4
Feb 2015
1.7
0.3
0.6
1.1
2.1
2.9
2.5
1.1
3.5
2.8
1.9
Mar 2015(p)
1.8
0.6
0.7
1.3
2.2
1.9
1.6
1.2
2.8
2.8
1.7
Since 2005, the ratio of quits to layoffs and discharges for education and health services and leisure and hospitality remained above 1.0 during nearly every month. The high ratio suggests a need for workers, with steady voluntary turnover and few layoffs and discharges.
The ratio for construction has been below 1.0 for most months since 2005. That means layoffs and discharges are more common than quits in this industry. Workers in the construction industry are routinely laid off as projects end and then rehired elsewhere for new projects.
These data are from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey . The data are not seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see “Job Openings and Labor Turnover — March 2015” (HTML ) (PDF ). More charts featuring data on job openings, hires, and employment separations are in Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Highlights: March 2015 (PDF).
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