Job Openings and Labor Turnover: January 2010

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 2.7 million job openings on the last business day of January 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The job openings rate rose over the month to 2.1 percent, the highest the rate has been since February 2009. The hires rate (3.1 percent) and the separations rate (3.2 percent) were unchanged in January. 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. This release also includes annual estimates for hires and separations. The annual totals for hires and quits decreased in 2009 while the annual total for layoffs and discharges increased.

Job Openings The job openings rate increased in January to 2.1 percent, the highest the rate has been since February 2009. In January, the job openings rate increased in education and health services. (See table 1.)

Over the 12 months ending in January, the job openings rate (not seasonally adjusted) was essentially unchanged for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The job openings rate increased over the year in construction, durable goods manufacturing, wholesale trade, information, and federal government. The job openings rate decreased over the 12-month period in retail trade and educational services. (See table 5.)

Hires

The hires rate was unchanged in January, remaining at 3.1 percent. The rate has remained between 3.0 percent and 3.2 percent since November 2008. After falling from the most recent peak of 5.6 million hires in January 2005, the hires level reached a low point of 3.9 million in June 2009. In January 2010, the hires level was 4.1 million. The hires rate was essentially unchanged in January for all industries and all four regions. (See table 2.)

Over the 12 months ending in January, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm and total private, but fell for government. Over the 12 months ending in January, the hires rate increased for durable goods manufacturing and decreased for wholesale trade, health care and social assistance, and the South region. (See table 6.)

Separations

Total separations includes quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (involuntary separations), and other separations (including retirements). The total separations, or turnover, rate was unchanged in January for total nonfarm and remained low at 3.2 percent. The rate was also unchanged for total private, but fell for government. The total separations rate (not seasonally adjusted) decreased over the 12 months ending in January for total nonfarm and total private while the rate for government was unchanged. (See tables 3 and 7.)

The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to change jobs. In January, the quits rate was little changed for total nonfarm (1.4 percent), total private (1.6 percent), and government (0.5 percent). The rate rose over the month in construction and arts, entertainment, and recreation. After falling from the most recent peak of 3.2 million in November 2006, the number of quits has held steady at 1.7 million or 1.8 million since April 2009. (See table 4.)

Over the 12 months ending in January, the quits rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm and government, but decreased for total private. The quits rate increased over the year in educational services and arts, entertainment, and recreation; the rate decreased in mining and logging, durable goods manufacturing, and retail trade. The quits rate fell over the year in the Midwest and was essentially unchanged in the other regions. (See table 8.)

The layoffs and discharges component of total separations is seasonally adjusted at the total nonfarm, total private, and government levels. The layoffs and discharges level for total nonfarm (1.9 million) and total private (1.8 million) were essentially unchanged in January, while the level for government (110,000) fell. The corresponding layoffs and discharges rates were 1.5 percent, 1.7 percent, and 0.5 percent. The number of layoffs and discharges at the total nonfarm level peaked at 2.6 million in January 2009; the most recent trough was 1.6 million in January 2006. (See table B below.)

The layoffs and discharges rate (not seasonally adjusted) fell over the 12 months ending in January for total nonfarm and total private, and was little changed for government. The layoffs and discharges rate fell over the year in many industries, including construction, durable goods manufacturing, nondurable goods manufacturing, wholesale trade, information, finance and insurance, real estate and rental and leasing, and other services. Regionally, the rate fell over the year in 3 of the 4 regions—Midwest, Northeast, and South. The layoffs and discharges rate did not rise over the year in any industry or region. (See table 9.)

The other separations series is not seasonally adjusted. In January, there were 547,000 other separations for total nonfarm, 476,000 for total private, and 71,000 for government. Compared to January 2009, the number of other separations was little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and 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. The proportion of quits had exceeded the proportion of layoffs and discharges every month from the beginning of the series in December 2000 until November 2008 when layoffs and discharges became the larger contributor to total separations. The proportion of separations due to quits hit a series low of 39 percent in January 2009 and again in April 2009. The proportion is now 43 percent in January 2010. The proportion of separations due to layoffs and discharges rose to a series high of 56 percent in April 2009 and was 46 percent in January 2010. (See tables 3 and 4, and table B above.)

Net Change in Employment

Over the 12 months ending in January, hires totaled 48.4 million and separations totaled 52.4 million, yielding a net employment loss of 4.0 million.

Annual Levels and Rates

This release contains the 2009 annual rates and levels for hires, total separations, quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Note that annual figures for job openings are not calculated because job openings are measured on a stock, or point-in- time, basis rather than on a flow basis over a specified time period. The annual figures and additional tables are published with the release of January data each year. (See the Technical Note for additional information on these measures.)

Calculating annual levels and rates allows additional comparisons across years. For the third year in a row, annual levels fell for hires, total separations, quits, and other separations, while rising for layoffs and discharges. In 2009, annual hires fell to 48.7 million (37.2 percent of employment), annual total separations fell to 53.7 million (41.0 percent of employment), annual quits declined steeply to 22.0 million (16.8 percent of employment), and annual other separations decreased slightly to 3.9 million (3.0 percent of employment). Annual layoffs and discharges rose in 2009 to 27.8 million (21.2 percent of employment). (See tables 11 through 20.)

Revisions to Job Openings and Labor Turnover Data

In accordance with annual practice, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data have been revised to reflect annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics (CES), or establishment survey, employment estimates. The JOLTS employment levels (not published) are ratio-adjusted to the CES employment levels, and the resulting ratios are applied to all JOLTS data elements. This annual benchmark process resulted in revisions to all not seasonally adjusted JOLTS data series from April 2008 forward, the time period since the last benchmark was established. Additionally, the seasonally adjusted JOLTS data series have been recalculated from December 2000 forward to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors. Further, the new methodology incorporated in 2009 to more closely align the hires and separations estimates with the monthly payroll employment change created a dependency of the not seasonally adjusted estimates on the seasonal adjustment process. Therefore, the not seasonally adjusted data series have been recalculated from December 2000 forward to reflect the updated seasonal adjustment factors’ effect on the alignment process.

Tables C through H present revised total nonfarm data for January through December 2009. The revised data incorporate the effect of applying the new benchmark level. The December 2009 revisions also reflect the routine incorporation of additional sample receipts into the final December estimates. Table C (job openings), table D (hires), table E (total separations), table F (quits), and table G (layoffs and discharges) present revised data on a seasonally adjusted basis, incorporating the new seasonal adjustment factors as well as the new benchmark level. Table H (other separations) present revisions on a not seasonally adjusted basis since that series is not adjusted.

The BLS website contains all revised historical seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted JOLTS data. The data can be accessed through the JOLTS homepage at http://www.bls.gov/jlt/.

Further information on the revisions released today may be obtained by calling (202) 691-5870 or via the Internet on the JOLTS homepage.