Job Openings and Labor Turnover: April 2013

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 3.8 million job openings on the last business day of April, little changed from 3.9 million in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The hires rate (3.3 percent) and separations rate (3.2 percent) also were little changed in April. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry and by geographic region.

Job Openings

The number of job openings in April was 3.8 million, little changed from March. (See table 1.) In April, the number of job openings was little changed in all industries and regions.

The number of job openings in April (not seasonally adjusted) increased over the year for total nonfarm and government and was little changed for total private. Job openings increased over the year for several industries and state and local government. Job openings decreased over the year for information; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and federal government. Job openings were up over the year for the West and little changed in the other regions. (See table 7.)

Hires

In April, the hires rate was little changed at 3.3 percent. The hires rate was little changed in all industries and regions over the month. (See table 2.)

Over the 12 months ending in April, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The hires rate also was little changed for all industries and all four regions over the year. (See table 8.)

Separations

Total separations includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Total separations also is referred to as turnover. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations include separations due to retirement, death, and disability, as well as transfers to other locations of the same firm.

In April, the quits rate was little changed at 1.7 percent. The quits rate was up for total private and little changed for government. The quits rate increased for professional and business services. The quits rate was little changed in all four regions. (See table 4.)

The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) was up over the 12 months ending in April for total nonfarm and total private but was little changed for government. The quits level increased for professional and business services and for the Midwest and South. (See table 10.)

The layoffs and discharges component of total separations is seasonally adjusted at the total nonfarm, total private, and government levels and for the four regions. The layoffs and discharges rate was unchanged in April at 1.2 percent. The rate also was unchanged for total private and government and little changed in all four regions. (See table 5.)

The layoffs and discharges level (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and government over the 12 months ending in April. Over the year, the number of layoffs and discharges fell in other services and rose in federal government. The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed in all four regions. (See table 11.)

In April, there were 375,000 other separations for total nonfarm, little changed from the previous month. The number of other separations for total private and government was little changed. (See table 6.) Over the 12 months ending in April, the number of other separations rose for total nonfarm and total private and was little changed for government. (See table 12.)

Net Change in Employment

Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout the business cycle. Net employment change results from the relationship between hires and separations. When the number of hires exceeds the number of separations, employment rises, even if the hires level is steady or declining. Conversely, when the number of hires is less than the number of separations, employment declines, even if the hires level is steady or rising. Over the 12 months ending in April 2013, hires totaled 52.0 million and separations totaled 50.2 million, yielding a net employment gain of 1.8 million. These figures include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.