Job Openings and Labor Turnover: June 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 2.9 million job openings on the last business day of June 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The job openings rate was unchanged over the month at 2.2 percent. The hires rate (3.3 percent) and the separations rate (3.3 percent) were little changed. 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 in June was 2.9 million, which was little changed from May. Although the month-to-month change is small, the number of job openings has risen by 599,000 (26 percent) since the most recent series trough of 2.3 million in July 2009. Even with the gains since July 2009, the number of job openings remained well below the 4.4 million open jobs when the recession began in December 2007 (as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research). (See table 1.)

The number of job openings in June (not seasonally adjusted) increased from 12 months earlier for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The job openings level increased in many industries and in 2 of the 4 regions—Midwest and South. The level was little changed over the year in the Northeast and West. (See table 5.)

Hires In June, the hires rate was essentially unchanged for total nonfarm at 3.3 percent. There were 4.3 million hires in June for total nonfarm, 398,000 (10 percent) higher than its most recent trough in June 2009. Hires remain below the 5.0 million hires in December 2007 when the recession began. The hires rate did not increase in June for any industry or region; the rate fell in government and in the South region. (See table 2.)

Over the 12 months ending in June, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) rose for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The hires rate increased over the past 12 months in many industries and in the Midwest region. The rate fell over the year in other services. (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 in June was essentially unchanged for total nonfarm and total private but rose for government. The total separations rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed over the 12 months ending in June for total nonfarm and total private but rose for government. (See tables 3 and 7.)

The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to change jobs. In June, the quits rate was unchanged at 1.5 percent for total nonfarm and was little changed in every industry except government, where it rose. The quits rate fell in June in the Midwest region. (See table 4.) The number of quits for total nonfarm fell by 1.4 million between the November 2006 peak and the September 2009 trough. Since September 2009, the number of quits has risen by 245,000.

Over the 12 months ending in June, the quits rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The quits rate increased over the 12 months ending in June in finance and insurance, real estate and rental and leasing, professional and business services, and federal government due to quits of some temporary Census 2010 workers. (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 essentially unchanged in June for total nonfarm and total private but increased for government. The number of layoffs and discharges for total nonfarm peaked at 2.6 million in January 2009, falling to 2.0 million in June 2010. The number of layoffs and discharges for total private in June (1,693,000) was below the level when the recession began (1,718,000). In government, the number of layoffs and discharges in June (341,000) was higher than when the recession began (117,000) due to the release of temporary Census 2010 workers in May and June. (See table B below.)

The layoffs and discharges rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed over the 12 months ending in June for total nonfarm and total private but rose for government. The layoffs and discharges rate fell over the year in a few industries but rose sharply in federal government, reflecting the layoffs of temporary Census 2010 workers. The layoffs and discharges rate declined over the year in the Northeast region. (See table 9.)

The other separations series is not seasonally adjusted. In June, there were 387,000 other separations for total nonfarm, 258,000 for total private, and 129,000 for government. Compared to June 2009, the number of other separations was little changed for total nonfarm and total private but increased for government. The rise in government other separations is due to state and local government where other separations rose from 82,000 in June 2009 to 123,000 in June 2010. (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, but for the majority of the series, the proportion of quits has exceeded the proportion of layoffs and discharges.

In June 2010, the proportion of quits was 45 percent and the proportion of layoffs and discharges was 47 percent for total nonfarm. For total private, the proportions were relatively steady in June at 48 percent quits and 44 percent layoffs and discharges. In contrast, the proportion of quits in government declined from 31 percent in May to 23 percent in June, and the proportion of layoffs increased from 51 percent in May to 63 percent in June as temporary Census 2010 workers completed their work. (Computed using values from tables 3 and 4, and table B above.)

Net Change in Employment Over the 12 months ending in June, hires totaled 49.8 million and separations totaled 50.0 million, yielding a net employment loss of 0.2 million.