Job Openings and Labor Turnover: March 2011

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 March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The job openings rate (2.3 percent) was unchanged over the month, following a gain in February. The hires rate (3.1 percent) and the separations rate (2.9 percent) also were unchanged in March. 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 March was 3.1 million, up from 3.0 million in February. (See table 1.) This marks the first time since November 2008 that job openings have been at or above 3.0 million for two consecutive months. The job openings level has trended up since the end of the recession in June 2009 (as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research) but remains well below the 4.4 million openings when the recession began in December 2007.

The number of job openings in March (not seasonally adjusted) increased from 12 months earlier for total nonfarm, total private, eight industries, and the Northeast and Midwest regions. The level decreased over the year for government due to decreases for federal government. (See table 5.) Over-the-year comparisons for federal government are impacted, in part, by the large number of temporary workers employed to conduct the 2010 Census.

Hires In March, the hires rate remained at 3.1 percent for total nonfarm and the rate was essentially unchanged for all industries and regions. (See table 2.) At 4.0 million in March, the number of hires has increased from 3.6 million in October 2009 (the series trough) but remains below the 5.0 million hires in December 2007 when the recession began.

Over the 12 months ending in March, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm and total private. Over the year, the hires rate fell for government and federal government due, in part, to hiring last year for the 2010 Census. The hires rate was unchanged for all industries and regions. (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 at 2.9 percent for total nonfarm in March on a seasonally adjusted basis. Over the year, the total separations rate (not seasonally adjusted) was essentially unchanged for total nonfarm, total private, and government. (See tables 3 and 7.)

The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to change jobs. In March, the quits rate was unchanged for total nonfarm (1.5 percent), total private (1.7 percent), and government (0.5 percent) and was little changed in every industry and region. (See table 4.) The 1.9 million quits in March remains well below the 2.8 million quits in December 2007 when the recession began.

The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) in March increased over the year for total nonfarm and total private but was little changed for government. The number of quits increased for durable manufacturing and decreased for 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. The layoffs and discharges rate was unchanged in March for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The number of layoffs and discharges for total nonfarm was 1.6 million in March, about the same as the series low of 1.5 million in January 2011. (See table B below.) The number of layoffs and discharges for total nonfarm had peaked at 2.5 million in February 2009.

The layoffs and discharges level (not seasonally adjusted) was essentially unchanged over the 12 months ending in March for total nonfarm and total private but the level decreased in federal government. The layoffs and discharges level was essentially unchanged over the year in all industries and regions. (See table 9.)

The other separations series is not seasonally adjusted. In March, there were 290,000 other separations for total nonfarm, 247,000 for total private, and 43,000 for government. Compared to March 2010, the number of other separations was little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and government. (See table 10.)

Relative Contributions to Separations 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 months since the series began in December 2000, the proportion of quits has exceeded the proportion of layoffs and discharges. Other separations is historically a very small portion of total separations; it has rarely been above 10 percent of the total.

Since the end of the recession, the proportion of layoffs and discharges has declined, while the proportion of quits has not returned to pre-recession levels. In March, the proportion of quits for total nonfarm was 50 percent and the proportion of layoffs and discharges was 42 percent. The proportion of quits for total private was 51 percent and the proportion of layoffs and discharges was 42 percent. For government, the proportions were 38 percent quits and 37 percent layoffs and discharges. (See table C below.)

Net Change in Employment Over the 12 months ending in March, hires (not seasonally adjusted) totaled nearly 47.6 million and separations (not seasonally adjusted) totaled 46.4 million, yielding a net employment gain of 1.2 million. These figures include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year. Nearly half of the hires and nearly half of the separations during these 12 months occurred in three industries: retail trade; professional and business services; and accommodation and food services. The large share of total hires and separations accounted for by these three industries reflects the size of the industries as well as their relatively high hires and separations rates.