Job Openings and Labor Turnover: March 2008

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.

On the last business day of March, there were 3.7 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The job openings, hires, and total separations rates were essentially unchanged in March. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic region.

Although the month-to-month changes in job openings, hires, and turnover data are often small, the trends over time are notable. The job openings rate remained essentially flat from August 2006 through September 2007 then began trending downward; the rate in March was at the lowest point since mid-2005. The hires rate has had an overall downward trend since July 2006, and has reached the lowest level since early 2004. The separations rate has had an overall downward trend since November 2006. (See tables 1, 2, and 3.)

Job Openings

In March, the job openings rate was essentially unchanged at 2.6 percent. Job openings include only those jobs open on the last business day of the month. Over the month, the job openings rate did not rise or fall significantly in any industry or region. Since the series began in December 2000, three industries have consistently had higher job openings rates than the other industries: edu- cation and health services (3.7 percent in March), accommodation and food ser- vices (3.8 percent), and professional and business services (3.9 percent). (See table 1.)

Over the year, the job openings rate (not seasonally adjusted) rose signifi- cantly only for federal government. The rate fell over the year for total nonfarm (to 2.7 percent) and total private (2.9 percent) as well as in several industries, including construction (1.4 percent); durable goods manufacturing (1.8 percent); wholesale trade (2.2 percent); transportation, warehousing, and utilities (1.9 per- cent); information (1.7 percent); and finance and insurance (2.7 percent). Two in- dustries--wholesale trade and information--have experienced exceptionally steep de- clines in the job openings rate over the past year. The job openings rate for whole- sale trade fell from 3.8 percent in March 2007 to 2.2 percent in March 2008; the rate for information fell from 4.5 percent in March 2007 to 1.7 percent in March 2008. Regionally, the job openings rate fell over the year in the Northeast (2.3 percent) and in the South (2.8 percent). (See table 5.)

Hires

The hires rate was unchanged at 3.3 percent in March. Hires are any additions to the payroll during the month. Over the month, the hires rate did not change significantly in any industry or region. As occurs nearly every month, the sea- sonally adjusted hires rate was highest in March in accommodation and food ser- vices (5.7 percent) and lowest in state and local government (1.6 percent). (See table 2.)

From March 2007 to March 2008, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) did not increase significantly in any industry or region. Over the year, the hires rate did fall significantly for total nonfarm (to 3.2 percent) and total private (3.6 percent) as well as in the information industry (1.4 percent), in the South region (3.3 per- cent), and in the Midwest region (3.0 percent). (See table 6.) The downward trend in the hires rate since 2006 was steepest in construction; transportation, warehousing, and utilities; information; and professional and business services.

Separations

The total separations, or turnover, rate was essentially unchanged at 3.2 percent in March. Separations are terminations of employment that occur at any time during the month. Over the month, the separations rate did not change significantly in any industry or region. As with hires, the seasonally adjusted separations rate was, as usual, highest in March in accommodation and food services (5.6 percent) and lowest in state and local government (1.1 percent). From March 2007 to March 2008, the total separations rate did not rise in any industry or region; the rate fell for total non- farm (to 2.8 percent); durable goods manufacturing (2.2 percent); nondurable goods man- ufacturing (2.3 percent); wholesale trade (2.0 percent); federal government (1.4 per- cent); and in the Midwest (2.4 percent) and South (3.0 percent) regions. (See tables 3 and 7.)

Total separations include quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (in- voluntary separations), and other separations (including retirements). The quits rate, which can serve as a barometer of workers’ ability to change jobs, was little changed in March for total nonfarm (1.7 percent). The quits rate fell over the month in manu- facturing (to 1.2 percent); professional and business services (2.1 percent); state and local government (0.5 percent); and in the Northeast region (1.3 percent). As has occur- red every month since the series began in December 2000, the seasonally adjusted quits rate was highest in the accommodation and food services industry (4.2 percent) and low- est in state and local government (0.5 percent). (See table 4.)

From March 2007 to March 2008, the quits rate (not seasonally adjusted) did not increase significantly in any industry. The quits rate fell over the year for total nonfarm (to 1.6 percent) and total private (1.8 percent), as well as in many industries, including durable goods manufacturing (1.1 percent); nondurable goods manufacturing (1.3 percent); wholesale trade (1.0 percent); information (1.0 percent); professional and business services (2.1 percent); and state and local government (0.4 percent). Geographically, the quits rate fell over the year in the Midwest (1.3 percent) and South (1.9 percent). (See table 8.)

The other two components of total separations--layoffs and discharges, and other separations--are not seasonally adjusted. For March, the layoffs and discharges rate (1.0 percent) and level (1.4 million) were unchanged from a year earlier. The layoffs and discharges rate in March 2008 was highest in arts, entertainment, and recreation (2.9 percent) and lowest in state and local government (0.2 percent). The other se- parations rate (0.2 percent) and level (310,000) were essentially unchanged in March from a year earlier. The highest other separations rate in March was for federal gov- ernment (0.6 percent). The other separations rate for most of the other industries range from 0.1 to 0.3 each month. (See tables 9 and 10.)

The total separations rate is driven by the relative contribution of its three com- ponents (quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations), with quits contributing the largest portion. The percentage of total separations attributable to quits has risen and fallen over time along with total nonfarm employment levels. The proportion of total separations due to quits rose from a post-recession low of 50 percent in December 2003 to a high of 61 percent in December 2006 (seasonally adjusted) before trending downward again. In March 2008, quits accounted for 54 percent of total separations. The proportion of se- parations attributable to quits varies widely by industry with the highest proportion regularly occurring in the accommodation and food services industry (76 percent in March) and the lowest proportion regularly occurring in the construction industry (30 percent in March). (See tables 3 and 4.)

Flows in the Labor Market

Several industries consistently have high rates of both hires and separations. These include construction; retail trade; professional and business services; arts, entertain- ment, and recreation; and accommodation and food services. In the 12 months ending in March 2008, these 5 industries produced 32.9 million hires and 31.8 million separations. Thus, these five industries accounted for 58 percent of total nonfarm hires and 59 percent of total nonfarm separations while comprising only 40 percent of total nonfarm employment.

For additional information, please read the Technical Note or visit the JOLTS Web site at http://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 April 2008 is scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, June 10.