Job Openings and Labor Turnover: April 2004

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

There were 4.4 million hires and 4.0 million separations during April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The number of hires dropped by 245,000 from March to April, but remained above the number of separations for the 12th straight month. The job openings rate was unchanged at 2.3 percent in April. The series in this report include estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic region.

Job Openings

On the last business day of April, there were 3.1 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate (the number of job openings on the last business day of the month divided by employment plus job open- ings) was 2.3 percent. (See table 1.) The job openings rate has ranged from 2.0 to 2.4 percent since October 2001. Over the month, the job openings rate edged up for manufacturing, while showing little or no change in other major industry categories.

Hires and Separations

The hires rate (the number of hires during the month divided by employment) decreased to 3.3 percent in April. (See table 2.) Hires are any additions to the payroll during the month. The hires rate decreased in professional and business services in April, following an increase in March. The hires rate for government decreased to 1.4 percent in April. Other major industries showed little or no change in their hires rates over the month. However, in the leisure and hospitality industry, there were approximately 100,000 more hires each month in February, March, and April 2004 than in the same months in 2003.

The total separations, or turnover, rate (the number of separations during the month divided by employment) was 3.1 percent in April and has remained in the range of 2.9 to 3.3 percent since December 2001. Separations are terminations of employment that occur at any time during the month. The total separations rate for government edged down in April, and the other major industries showed little or no change in their total separations rates over the month. (See table 3.)

Total separations include quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (involuntary separations), and other separations (including retirements). The quits rate, which can serve as a barometer of workers' ability to change jobs, was unchanged at 1.7 percent in April. (See table 4.) There were more quits in February, March, and April 2004 than in the same months in 2003. Quits as a percent of total separations has been increasing since December 2003; quits were 55.2 percent of total separa- tions in April. In the education and health services industry, quits were 64.4 percent of total separations. The other two components of total sep- arations, layoffs and discharges (1.0 percent) and other separations (0.2 percent), are not seasonally adjusted. (See tables 9 and 10.)

Hires and separations help show dynamic flows in the labor market. Over the last 12 months, hires have averaged 4.1 million per month and separations have averaged 3.9 million per month. (See the Technical Note for additional information on these measures.) Hires have outpaced separa- tions in each of the last 12 months. In March and April, hires outpaced separations in every industry except manufacturing.

The trade, transportation, and utilities industry reported 23.6 percent of the 4.4 million hires and 23.8 percent of the 4.0 million separations in April. The South region reported 36.0 percent of hires and 36.9 percent of separations.

For additional information, please see the Technical Note or the JOLTS Web site at www.bls.gov/jlt/. Additional information about JOLTS also may be obtained by e-mailing Joltsinfo@bls.gov or by calling (202) 691-5870.