Technical information: (202) 691-5870 USDL 09-0935
http://www.bls.gov/jlt/
JoltsInfo@bls.gov
For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Wednesday, August 12, 2009
JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER: JUNE 2009
On the last business day of June, the number of job openings in
the U.S. was little changed near a series low level of 2.6 million,
the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor
reported today. The hires rate at 2.9 percent in June was at the
lowest point since the series began in December 2000. The total
separations rate remained at a series low of 3.3 percent. 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 job openings rate was unchanged in June; the rate has held at
1.9 percent since March 2009. The number of job openings varied
little over the last four months, after falling by 2.2 million, or 45
percent, from June 2007 to March 2009. The job openings rate was
little changed in June in every industry and region. (See table 1.)
- 2 -
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally
adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Job openings | Hires | Total separations
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Industry | June | May | June | June | May | June | June | May | June
| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p
-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total(1)...........|3,850 |2,523 |2,558 |4,811 |3,942 |3,776 |4,963 |4,356 |4,337
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..|3,429 |2,191 |2,206 |4,498 |3,739 |3,673 |4,674 |4,066 |3,985
Construction.....| 117 | 39 | 67 | 394 | 365 | 289 | 451 | 411 | 359
Manufacturing....| 268 | 105 | 101 | 318 | 206 | 209 | 369 | 367 | 359
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and | | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)....| 608 | 466 | 484 | 996 | 842 | 740 |1,031 | 951 | 785
Retail trade....| 361 | 319 | 316 | 679 | 575 | 516 | 692 | 601 | 546
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services........| 713 | 451 | 412 | 869 | 721 | 680 | 928 | 771 | 727
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices...........| 714 | 530 | 528 | 547 | 473 | 530 | 495 | 419 | 485
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality.....| 516 | 265 | 304 | 820 | 695 | 708 | 823 | 684 | 711
Arts, enter- | | | | | | | | |
tainment and | | | | | | | | |
recreation.....| 46 | 20 | 16 | 109 | 83 | 104 | 116 | 88 | 104
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 468 | 239 | 283 | 707 | 606 | 601 | 714 | 596 | 611
Government(3).....| 420 | 310 | 321 | 321 | 273 | 254 | 295 | 288 | 324
State and local | | | | | | | | |
government......| 359 | 267 | 269 | 295 | 257 | 237 | 269 | 250 | 258
|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total(1)...........| 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.3
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..| 2.9 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.7
Construction.....| 1.6 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 4.6 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 5.8
Manufacturing....| 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3.0
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and | | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)....| 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.1
Retail trade....| 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.7
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services........| 3.8 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 4.4
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices...........| 3.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 2.5
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality.....| 3.7 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 6.1 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 6.1 | 5.2 | 5.4
Arts, enter- | | | | | | | | |
tainment and | | | | | | | | |
recreation.....| 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 5.5 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 4.6 | 5.5
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 3.9 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 6.1 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 5.4
Government(3).....| 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.4
State and local | | | | | | | | |
government......| 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and
other services, not shown separately.
2 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not
shown separately.
3 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
p = preliminary.
Over the 12 months ending in June, the job openings rate (not
seasonally adjusted) fell for total nonfarm, total private,
government, and a majority of the industries. The exceptions were
construction; wholesale trade; retail trade; finance and insurance;
real estate and rental and leasing; educational services; other
services; and federal government, which were little changed. Three of
the four regions experienced a drop in the job openings rate in the 12
months ending in June: Midwest, South, and West. (See table 5.)
- 3 -
Hires
The hires level was little changed at 3.8 million in June but has
declined by 1.9 million, or 33 percent, since the recent peak in July
2006. The hires rate was 2.9 percent in June. The hires rate
declined over the month in construction and trade, transportation, and
utilities. The rate increased over the month in education and health
services. (See table 2.)
Over the 12 months ending in June, the hires rate (not seasonally
adjusted) declined for total nonfarm, total private, government, and
many industries. The rate rose in the other services industry. The
industries with little change in the rate were nondurable goods
manufacturing; transportation, warehousing, and utilities;
information; real estate and rental and leasing; educational services;
health care and social assistance; and arts, entertainment, and
recreation. The hires rate fell over the past 12 months in three of
the four regions: Midwest, South, and West. (See table 6.)
Separations
The total separations, or turnover, rate was unchanged in June
and remained low at 3.3 percent. The total separations rate (not
seasonally adjusted) decreased over the 12 months ending in June for
total nonfarm and total private. Total separations includes quits
(voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (involuntary
separations), and other separations (including retirements). (See
tables 3 and 7.)
The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or
ability to change jobs. The rate was unchanged in June and remained
low at 1.4 percent. The quits level was 1.8 million in June, which is
43 percent lower than the recent peak in December 2006. (See table
4.)
Over the 12 months ending in June, the quits rate (not seasonally
adjusted) was lower for total nonfarm, total private, government,
nearly every industry, and all four regions. The three industries in
which the quits rate was little changed over the year were
information; educational services; and arts, entertainment, and
recreation. The only industry in which the quits rate rose over the
year was 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. Layoffs and discharges levels were little changed
in June at 2.2 million for total nonfarm, 2.0 million for total
private, and 150,000 for government. The corresponding layoffs and
discharges rates were 1.6 percent, 1.8 percent, and 0.7 percent,
respectively. The number of layoffs for the U.S. in June was 35
percent higher than the recent low in January 2006. (See table B
below.)
The layoffs and discharges rate (not seasonally adjusted) was
little changed over the 12 months ending in June at the total nonfarm
and total private levels after rising over the year in January through
May. Although the total nonfarm layoffs and discharges rate was
little changed over the 12 months ending in June, the rate rose in
mining and logging; durable goods manufacturing; federal government;
and state and local government. The remaining industries and all four
regions were little changed over the year. (See table 9.)
- 4 -
Table B. Layoffs and discharges by industry, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates
|------------------------------------------------
Industry | June | May | June | June | May | June
| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p| 2008 | 2009 | 2009p
-------------------|------------------------------------------------
Total..............| 1,990 | 2,273 | 2,150 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.6
Total private.....| 1,882 | 2,140 | 2,004 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.8
Government....... | 105 | 130 | 150 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
The other separations series is not seasonally adjusted. In
June, there were 363,000 other separations for total nonfarm, 251,000
for total private, and 111,000 for government. Compared to June 2008,
the number of other separations was little changed for total nonfarm
and total private, but higher for government. (See table 10.)
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. After the proportion of quits decreased to an all-
time low of 38 percent in April 2009, it increased to 42 percent of
total separations in June 2009. The proportion of layoffs and
discharges moved in the opposite direction, increasing to an all-time
high of 54 percent in April 2009, and then decreasing to 50 percent in
June 2009. (See tables 3 and 4, and table B above.)
Net Change in Employment
In each month from July 2008 to June 2009, separations exceeded
hires. Over the 12 months ending in June, hires totaled 51.8 million
and separations totaled 57.1 million, yielding a net employment loss
of 5.3 million.
_______________________________________________
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover release for July 2009 is
scheduled to be issued on Wednesday, September 9.
