Job Openings and Labor Turnover: June 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 June, there were 3.6 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 rate, hires rate, and total separations rate were all essentially unchanged in June. 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, followed by a downward trend until March 2008 when the rate leveled off at 2.6 percent for four consecutive months. The hires rate has trended downward since July 2006 and experienced a large drop in May 2008. The uptick in the hires rate in June 2008 was not statistically significant, and the rate remains at the lowest levels since 2003. After remaining essentially flat for much of 2007, the separations rate began an overall downward trend in December 2007. (See tables 1, 2, and 3.)

Job Openings

In June, the job openings rate was 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 changed significantly only in state and local government and the West region, falling for both. Since the series began in December 2000, three industries consistently have had higher job openings rates than the other industries: professional and business services (3.8 percent in June), education and health services (3.5 percent), and accommodation and food services (3.5 percent). (See table 1.)

Over the year, the job openings rate (not seasonally adjusted) rose significantly only in natural resources and mining (to 2.2 percent) and federal government (2.0 percent). The rate fell over the year for total nonfarm (2.6 percent) and total private (2.7 percent) as well as in most industries, including durable goods manufacturing (1.7 percent); nondurable goods manufacturing (2.1 percent); wholesale trade (2.1 percent); retail trade (1.9 percent); transportation, warehousing, and utilities (1.8 percent); information (2.5 percent); finance and insurance (2.5 percent); real estate and rental and leasing (1.2 percent); educational services (1.9 percent); arts, entertainment, and recreation (1.8 percent); accommodation and food services (3.5 percent); and state and local government (2.1 percent). Regionally, the job openings rate fell over the year in the Midwest (2.2 percent), South (2.9 percent), and West (2.7 percent). (See table 5.)

Hires

The hires rate was essentially unchanged in June at 3.1 percent. After dropping in May, the hires rate remains at the lowest point since June 2003. Hires are any additions to the payroll during the month. The hires rate did not change significantly in any industry or region in June. As occurs nearly every month, the seasonally adjusted hires rate was highest in June in accommodation and food services (5.7 percent) and lowest in state and local government (1.4 percent). (See table 2.)

From June 2007 to June 2008, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) increased significantly only in real estate and rental and leasing (to 4.7 percent); the rate decreased significantly for total nonfarm (to 3.8 percent) and total private (4.2 percent), and in construction (4.9 percent); durable goods manufacturing (2.3 percent); wholesale trade (2.6 percent); information (1.9 percent); arts, entertainment, and recreation (6.5 percent); accommodation and food services (6.8 percent); federal government (1.2 percent); and state and local government (1.9 percent). Regionally, the hires rate fell over the year in the South (3.8 percent) and West (4.0 percent). (See table 6.)

Separations

The total separations, or turnover, rate was unchanged at 3.1 percent in June. 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 often occurs, the seasonally adjusted separations rate was highest in June in accommodation and food services (5.6 percent) and lowest in state and local government (1.2 percent). From June 2007 to June 2008, the total separations rate did not rise in any industry or region. The rate fell for total nonfarm (to 3.2 percent) and total private (3.5 percent), and in wholesale trade (2.3 percent); finance and insurance (1.6 percent); educational services (3.0 percent); other services (2.6 percent); and federal government (0.9 percent); and the West region (3.6 percent). (See tables 3 and 7.)

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 in June for total nonfarm (at 1.7 percent) and has been stable since November 2007. The quits rate did not change significantly in any industry or region in June. As has occurred every month since the series began in December 2000, the seasonally adjusted quits rate was highest in the accommodation and food services industry (4.3 percent) and lowest in state and local government (0.6 percent). (See table 4.)

From June 2007 to June 2008, the quits rate (not seasonally adjusted) did not rise significantly for any industry. The rate fell for total nonfarm (to 1.9 percent) and total private (2.1 percent), and for several industries, including nondurable goods manufacturing (1.3 percent); wholesale trade (1.1 percent); finance and insurance (1.0 percent); educational services (1.1 percent); and federal government (0.3 percent). The quits rate did not change significantly in June in any region. (See table 8.)

The other two components of total separations-layoffs and discharges, and other separations-are not seasonally adjusted. For June, the layoffs and discharges rate (1.2 percent) and level (1.6 million) are essentially unchanged from a year earlier. The layoffs and discharges rate did not increase significantly in any industry or region; the rate fell for educational services (to 1.8 percent); other services (0.7 percent); and federal government (0.4 percent). The layoffs and discharges rate in June 2008 was highest in construction (2.4 percent) and lowest in federal government (0.4 percent). The other separations rate (0.2 percent) and level (295,000) were lower in June than a year earlier. The other separations rate was highest in June 2008 for state and local government (0.4 percent). The other separations rate for most of the other industries range from 0.1 to 0.3 percent each month. (See tables 9 and 10.)

The total separations rate is driven by the relative contribution of its three components (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. The proportion of total separations due to quits (seasonally adjusted) rose from a post-recession low of 50 percent in December 2003 to a high of 61 percent in December 2006 before trending downward again. The proportion has been essentially level in 2008; quits accounted for 56 percent of total separations in June 2008. The proportion of separations attributable to quits has varied the most over the history of the series in the construction industry (ranging from 26 percent to 55 percent) and in the Northeast region (ranging from 39 percent to 65 percent). The proportion of separations attributable to quits varies widely by industry with the highest proportion regularly occurring in the accommodation and food services industry (76 percent in June) and the lowest proportion regularly occurring in the construction industry (37 percent in June). (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, entertainment, and recreation; and accommodation and food services. In the 12 months ending in June 2008, these 5 industries produced 32.1 million hires and 31.5 million separations. Therefore, 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 July 2008 is scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, September 9.