Job Openings and Labor Turnover: May 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 4.2 million hires and 4.0 million separations in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The number of hires outpaced the number of separations for the 13th straight month, and there were fewer hires and separations than in April. The job openings rate was unchanged at 2.3 percent in May. The series in this report include estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separa- tions for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic region.

Job Openings

On the last business day of May 2004, 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 openings) was 2.3 percent. (See table 1.) The job openings rate has ranged from 2.0 percent to 2.4 percent since October 2001. In May, the job openings rate edged down in manufacturing and showed little or no change for other major industry categories.

Hires and Separations

The hires rate (the number of hires during the month divided by employment) decreased to 3.2 percent in May. (See table 2.) Hires are any additions to the payroll during the month. The hires rate decreased in trade, transporta- tion, and utilities and government over the month, while other major indus- tries showed little or no change in their hires rates.

The total separations, or turnover, rate (the number of separations during the month divided by employment) was 3.1 percent in May and has remained in the range of 2.9 percent 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 trade, transportation, and utilities decreased to 3.5 percent in May, and the total separations rate in construction continued on a downward trend. The other major industries showed little 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, edged down to 1.6 percent in May. (See table 4.) The quits rate fell in professional and business services and edged down in manufacturing over the month. Quits as a percent of total separations fell to 53.8 percent in May, after increasing each month since December 2003. The other two components of total separations, layoffs and discharges (1.0 percent) and other separations (0.2 percent), are not seasonally ad- justed and were unchanged over the year. (See tables 9 and 10.)

Hires and separations help show dynamic flows in the labor market. Over the last 12 months, hires have averaged 4.2 million per month and separations have averaged 4.0 million per month. (See the Technical Note for additional information on these measures.) Hires have outpaced separations in each of the last 13 months. In April and May, hires outpaced separations in every industry except manufacturing.

For additional information, please see the Technical Note or the JOLTS website 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.