Job Openings and Labor Turnover: November 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.

The job openings rate edged down in November, while the hires rate increased and the total separations rate remained unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The job openings rate decreased slightly to 2.4 percent. The hires rate in- creased to 3.6 percent; the total separations rate was unchanged at 3.1 per- cent. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job open- ings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic region.

Job Openings

On the last business day of November 2004, there were 3.2 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.4 percent. (See table 1.) The job openings rate edged down in November, although it has followed a generally upward trend since August 2003. In November, the job openings rate decreased in government; manufacturing; and trade, trans- portation, and utilities. The job openings rate was down in the Northeast and South regions.

Hires and Separations

The hires rate (the number of hires during the month divided by employ- ment) was 3.6 percent in November, a slight increase from a month earlier. (See table 2.) Hires are any additions to the payroll during the month. The hires rate increased in the manufacturing; trade, transportation, and utilities; and education and health services industries over the month. The hires rate rose in the Midwest region.

The total separations, or turnover, rate (the total number of separations during the month divided by employment) was 3.1 percent in November. The overall total separations rate is 0.2 percentage point higher than its most recent low in November 2003. Separations are terminations of employment that occur at any time during the month. (See table 3.) The total separations rate increased in professional and business services in November.

Total separations include quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and dis- charges (involuntary separations), and other separations (including retire- ments). The quits rate, which can serve as a barometer of workers' ability to change jobs, was essentially unchanged at 1.8 percent in November, after holding steady at 1.7 percent from February through October 2004. (See table 4.) The quits rate increased in professional and business services and edged down in government in November. The other two components of total separations, layoffs and discharges (1.2 percent) and other separations (0.2 percent), are not seasonally adjusted. Both rates showed little change from a year earlier.

Hires and separations help show dynamic flows in the labor market. Over the last 12 months, hires have averaged 4.3 million per month and separations have averaged 4.1 million per month. (See the Technical Note for additional information on these measures.)

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.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover release for December 2004 is scheduled to be issued on Wednesday, February 9, 2005.