February 13, 2008 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Job openings and labor turnover in 2007

From December 2006 to December 2007, the job openings, hires, and total separations rates all fell significantly for the total nonfarm sector.

[Chart data—TXT]

On the last business day of December 2007, there were 4.0 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.8 percent. The job openings rate was 3.1 percent in December 2006.

The hires rate was 3.3 percent in December 2007, down from 3.6 percent a year earlier. The hires rate did not increase significantly in any industry or region over the year.

The total separations, or turnover, rate fell to 3.1 percent in December 2007 from 3.3 percent in December 2006. Over the year, the total separations rate rose in federal government; the rate fell in durable goods manufacturing, information, and finance and insurance.

These data come from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. To learn more, see "Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary: December 2007" (PDF) (HTML), news release USDL 08-0201. These data are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary.