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Hires 5.8 million and total separations 5.1 million in October 2020

December 15, 2020

In October 2020, the number of hires was approximately 5.8 million. During the same period, total separations was approximately 5.1 million. Trade, transportation, and utilities had the largest number of hires at approximately 1.2 million. This industry also had the largest amount of separations at approximately 1.1 million.

Hires and total separations, October 2020 
Industry Total Separations Hires

Total

5,107,000 5,812,000

Total private

4,642,000 5,493,000

Mining and logging

22,000 17,000

Construction

320,000 396,000

Manufacturing

355,000 371,000

Durable goods

207,000 216,000

Nondurable goods

149,000 155,000

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,118,000 1,247,000

Wholesale trade

132,000 131,000

Retail trade

726,000 790,000

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

260,000 326,000

Information

54,000 111,000

Financial activities

192,000 216,000

Finance and insurance

112,000 134,000

Real estate and rental and leasing

79,000 83,000

Professional and business services

977,000 1,081,000

Education and health services

650,000 745,000

Educational services

77,000 92,000

Health care and social assistance

573,000 653,000

Leisure and hospitality

781,000 1,082,000

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

105,000 124,000

Accommodation and food services

677,000 958,000

Other services

174,000 228,000

Government

465,000 318,000

Federal

199,000 47,000

State and local

266,000 271,000

State and local education

133,000 125,000

State and local, excluding education

133,000 146,000

In October 2020, professional and business services and leisure and hospitality also had over one million hires for the month.

In October 2020, total separations (465,000) were greater than hires (318,000) in government. Total separations were also greater than hires in mining and logging. Separations and hires were about the same in wholesale trade.

These data are from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. To learn more, see "Job Openings and Labor Turnover — October 2020." Also see more charts on job openings, hires, and separations, and Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on Job Openings and Labor Turnover data for October 2020.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Hires 5.8 million and total separations 5.1 million in October 2020 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2020/hires-5-8-million-and-total-separations-5-1-million-in-october-2020.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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