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

Hires and separations in 2007

There were 57.8 million hires in 2007, equivalent to 42.0 percent of employment. Hires were down in 2007 after rising the preceding three years.

[Chart data—TXT]

Total separations remained essentially flat for a second year with 54.6 million separations (39.7 percent of employment) in 2007. 

Total separations include quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (involuntary separations), and other separations (including retirements).

Quits followed the same pattern as hires, decreasing slightly in 2007 to 31.1 million after rising the preceding three years.

Layoffs and discharges rose in 2007 to 19.7 million after falling in 2006. Other separations fell to 3.9 million in 2007, in line with the years 2001 through 2005, after rising sharply in 2006.

These data are from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. To learn more about hires, separations, and quits, see "Job Openings and Labor Turnover: January 2008" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 08-0332. These data are not seasonally adjusted.