Job Openings and Labor Turnover: April 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 3.1 million job openings on the last business day of April 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The job openings rate increased over the month to 2.3 percent. The hires rate (3.3 percent) and the separations rate (3.1 percent) were unchanged. 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 number of job openings increased in April to 3.1 million. Since the most recent trough of 2.3 million in July 2009, the number of job openings has risen by 740,000. The job openings level increased in April for total nonfarm and total private. The level decreased for government. The number of job openings was little changed in most industries and in 2 of the 4 regions. The level increased in the Northeast and the West. (See table 1.)

The number of job openings in April (not seasonally adjusted) increased from 12 months earlier for total nonfarm and total private. The job openings level increased in many industries and the number of job openings increased in 3 of the 4 regions. (See table 5.)

Hires In April, the hires rate was unchanged for total nonfarm at 3.3 percent. The hires rate has remained between 3.0 percent and 3.3 percent since September 2008. The hires rate was little changed in April for all industries and regions. (See table 2.)

Over the 12 months ending in April, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) increased for total private and was little changed for total nonfarm, government, and most industries. The hires rate increased in the Midwest and was little changed in the remaining regions over the year. (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 remained unchanged in April for total nonfarm at 3.1 percent. The rate was also little changed over the month for total private and government. The total separations rate (not seasonally adjusted) decreased over the 12 months ending in April for total nonfarm and total private and was little changed for government. (See tables 3 and 7.)

The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to change jobs. In April, the quits rate was unchanged for total nonfarm (1.5 percent) and total private (1.7 percent), and the rate for government was little changed (0.4 percent). The rate was little changed over the month for all industries and regions. (See table 4.)

Over the 12 months ending in April, the quits rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm and government but increased for total private. The quits rate was little changed in most industries and 3 of the 4 regions over the year. The rate increased in the Northeast. (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 rate was little changed in April for total nonfarm, total private, and government. (See table B below.)

The layoffs and discharges rate (not seasonally adjusted) fell over the 12 months ending in April for total nonfarm and total private and was little changed for government. The layoffs and discharges rate fell over the year in many industries and all four regions. (See table 9.)

The other separations series is not seasonally adjusted. In April, there were 349,000 other separations for total nonfarm, 300,000 for total private, and 49,000 for government. Compared to April 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. In April 2009, the proportion of quits was 39 percent and began to rise, while the proportion of layoffs and discharges reached a high of 56 percent and began to fall. In February 2010, the relative contribution reversed again with the proportion of quits (47 percent) slightly exceeding the proportion of layoffs and discharges (46 percent). The difference between the proportions for quits (50 percent) and layoffs and discharges (44 percent) increased in April 2010. (Computed using values from tables 3 and 4, and table B above.)

Net Change in Employment Over the 12 months ending in April, hires totaled 48.8 million and separations totaled 50.2 million, yielding a net employment loss of 1.4 million.