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There were 36.1 million quits in the nonfarm sector in 2016, an increase from 2015. The number of layoffs and discharges, at 19.9 million in 2016, declined from 2015. There were 62.7 million hires in the nonfarm sector in 2016, essentially the same as the number of hires in 2015 but well above the 46.2 million hires in 2009.
Year | Hires | Total separations |
Layoffs and discharges |
Quits | Other separations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 |
62,727,000 | 64,560,000 | 24,271,000 | 35,784,000 | 4,506,000 |
2002 |
58,416,000 | 58,942,000 | 22,719,000 | 31,655,000 | 4,566,000 |
2003 |
56,919,000 | 56,961,000 | 23,420,000 | 29,251,000 | 4,292,000 |
2004 |
60,236,000 | 58,224,000 | 22,584,000 | 31,444,000 | 4,201,000 |
2005 |
63,089,000 | 60,633,000 | 22,151,000 | 34,380,000 | 4,102,000 |
2006 |
63,491,000 | 61,284,000 | 20,856,000 | 35,692,000 | 4,731,000 |
2007 |
62,239,000 | 60,984,000 | 21,997,000 | 34,718,000 | 4,270,000 |
2008 |
54,764,000 | 58,209,000 | 23,969,000 | 30,391,000 | 3,850,000 |
2009 |
46,190,000 | 51,358,000 | 26,557,000 | 21,112,000 | 3,689,000 |
2010 |
48,659,000 | 47,649,000 | 21,703,000 | 22,051,000 | 3,897,000 |
2011 |
50,253,000 | 48,214,000 | 20,756,000 | 23,581,000 | 3,877,000 |
2012 |
52,332,000 | 50,131,000 | 20,942,000 | 25,142,000 | 4,047,000 |
2013 |
54,320,000 | 51,932,000 | 19,888,000 | 27,715,000 | 4,327,000 |
2014 |
58,657,000 | 55,587,000 | 20,398,000 | 30,582,000 | 4,605,000 |
2015 |
62,050,000 | 59,275,000 | 20,954,000 | 33,718,000 | 4,603,000 |
2016 |
62,719,000 | 60,419,000 | 19,911,000 | 36,091,000 | 4,418,000 |
The quits rate, 25.0 percent of employment in 2016, rose for the seventh consecutive year. The layoffs and discharges rate, 13.8 percent of employment in 2016, fell over the year and was well below the most recent peak of 20.2 percent in 2009. The annual rate of other separations—which include retirements, transfers to other locations, deaths, and separations due to disability—was 3.1 percent in 2016, essentially the same as in recent years. The hires rate in 2016 was 43.5 percent of nonfarm employment, essentially the same as in 2015.
Year | Hires | Total separations |
Layoffs and discharges |
Quits | Other separations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 |
47.5% | 48.9% | 18.4% | 27.1% | 3.4% |
2002 |
44.7 | 45.1 | 17.4 | 24.2 | 3.5 |
2003 |
43.7 | 43.7 | 18.0 | 22.4 | 3.3 |
2004 |
45.7 | 44.2 | 17.1 | 23.9 | 3.2 |
2005 |
47.1 | 45.2 | 16.5 | 25.6 | 3.1 |
2006 |
46.5 | 44.9 | 15.3 | 26.2 | 3.5 |
2007 |
45.1 | 44.2 | 15.9 | 25.2 | 3.1 |
2008 |
39.9 | 42.4 | 17.5 | 22.1 | 2.8 |
2009 |
35.2 | 39.1 | 20.2 | 16.1 | 2.8 |
2010 |
37.3 | 36.6 | 16.6 | 16.9 | 3.0 |
2011 |
38.1 | 36.5 | 15.7 | 17.9 | 2.9 |
2012 |
39.0 | 37.4 | 15.6 | 18.7 | 3.0 |
2013 |
39.8 | 38.1 | 14.6 | 20.3 | 3.2 |
2014 |
42.2 | 40.0 | 14.7 | 22.0 | 3.3 |
2015 |
43.7 | 41.8 | 14.8 | 23.8 | 3.2 |
2016 |
43.5 | 41.9 | 13.8 | 25.0 | 3.1 |
These data are from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. To learn more, see "Job Openings and Labor Turnover — January 2017" (HTML) (PDF). Also see more charts featuring data on job openings, hires, and separations. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee; layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by employers.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Quits rise while layoffs and discharges fall in 2016 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/quits-rise-while-layoffs-and-discharges-fall-in-2016.htm (visited December 03, 2024).