June 07, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Hires and separations in April

The hires and total separations rates both decreased in April 2006.

[Chart data—TXT]

The hires rate decreased from 3.6 percent in March to 3.4 percent in April. Over the month, the hires rate increased in education and health services and decreased in trade, transportation, and utilities; leisure and hospitality; and in government. In April, the seasonally adjusted hires rate was highest in the leisure and hospitality industry.

The total separations, or turnover, rate declined from 3.5 to 3.3 percent in April. The total separations rate decreased in manufacturing and government over the month.

Total separations include quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (involuntary separations), and other separations (including retirements). The quits rate, which can serve as a barometer of workers' confidence in their ability to change jobs, dropped in April.

These estimates are from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey program. To learn more about job openings, hires and separations, see Job Openings and Labor Turnover: April 2006 (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-943. Data for April 2006 are preliminary. Hires are any additions to the payroll during the month. Separations are terminations of employment that occur at any time during the month.