Job Openings and Labor Turnover: June 2009

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, the number of job openings in the U.S. was little changed near a series low level of 2.6 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The hires rate at 2.9 percent in June was at the lowest point since the series began in December 2000. The total separations rate remained at a series low of 3.3 percent. 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.

Job Openings The job openings rate was unchanged in June; the rate has held at 1.9 percent since March 2009. The number of job openings varied little over the last four months, after falling by 2.2 million, or 45 percent, from June 2007 to March 2009. The job openings rate was little changed in June in every industry and region. (See table 1.)

Over the 12 months ending in June, the job openings rate (not seasonally adjusted) fell for total nonfarm, total private, government, and a majority of the industries. The exceptions were construction; wholesale trade; retail trade; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; educational services; other services; and federal government, which were little changed. Three of the four regions experienced a drop in the job openings rate in the 12 months ending in June: Midwest, South, and West. (See table 5.)

Hires The hires level was little changed at 3.8 million in June but has declined by 1.9 million, or 33 percent, since the recent peak in July 2006. The hires rate was 2.9 percent in June. The hires rate declined over the month in construction and trade, transportation, and utilities. The rate increased over the month in education and health services. (See table 2.)

Over the 12 months ending in June, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) declined for total nonfarm, total private, government, and many industries. The rate rose in the other services industry. The industries with little change in the rate were nondurable goods manufacturing; transportation, warehousing, and utilities; information; real estate and rental and leasing; educational services; health care and social assistance; and arts, entertainment, and recreation. The hires rate fell over the past 12 months in three of the four regions: Midwest, South, and West. (See table 6.)

Separations The total separations, or turnover, rate was unchanged in June and remained low at 3.3 percent. The total separations rate (not seasonally adjusted) decreased over the 12 months ending in June for total nonfarm and total private. Total separations includes quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (involuntary separations), and other separations (including retirements). (See tables 3 and 7.)

The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to change jobs. The rate was unchanged in June and remained low at 1.4 percent. The quits level was 1.8 million in June, which is 43 percent lower than the recent peak in December 2006. (See table 4.)

Over the 12 months ending in June, the quits rate (not seasonally adjusted) was lower for total nonfarm, total private, government, nearly every industry, and all four regions. The three industries in which the quits rate was little changed over the year were information; educational services; and arts, entertainment, and recreation. The only industry in which the quits rate rose over the year was federal government. (See table 8.)

The layoffs and discharges component of total separations is seasonally adjusted at the total nonfarm, total private, and government levels. Layoffs and discharges levels were little changed in June at 2.2 million for total nonfarm, 2.0 million for total private, and 150,000 for government. The corresponding layoffs and discharges rates were 1.6 percent, 1.8 percent, and 0.7 percent, respectively. The number of layoffs for the U.S. in June was 35 percent higher than the recent low in January 2006. (See table B below.)

The layoffs and discharges rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed over the 12 months ending in June at the total nonfarm and total private levels after rising over the year in January through May. Although the total nonfarm layoffs and discharges rate was little changed over the 12 months ending in June, the rate rose in mining and logging; durable goods manufacturing; federal government; and state and local government. The remaining industries and all four regions were little changed over the year. (See table 9.)

The other separations series is not seasonally adjusted. In June, there were 363,000 other separations for total nonfarm, 251,000 for total private, and 111,000 for government. Compared to June 2008, the number of other separations was little changed for total nonfarm and total private, but higher for government. (See table 10.)

The total separations level is influenced by the relative contribution of its three components—quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. The percentage of total separations at the total nonfarm level attributable to the individual components has varied over time. After the proportion of quits decreased to an all- time low of 38 percent in April 2009, it increased to 42 percent of total separations in June 2009. The proportion of layoffs and discharges moved in the opposite direction, increasing to an all-time high of 54 percent in April 2009, and then decreasing to 50 percent in June 2009. (See tables 3 and 4, and table B above.)

Net Change in Employment In each month from July 2008 to June 2009, separations exceeded hires. Over the 12 months ending in June, hires totaled 51.8 million and separations totaled 57.1 million, yielding a net employment loss of 5.3 million.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover release for July 2009 is scheduled to be issued on Wednesday, September 9.