For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, February 12, 2013 USDL-13-0234
Technical information: (202) 691-5870 • JoltsInfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/jlt
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov
Job Openings and Labor Turnover – December 2012
There were 3.6 million job openings on the last business day of
December, little changed from November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. The hires rate (3.1 percent) and
separations rate (3.0 percent) also were little changed in December.
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 December was 3.6 million, little changed
from November. (See table 1.) The number of openings decreased in
retail trade and was little changed in all remaining industries and in
all four regions in December. The level of total nonfarm job openings
was 2.4 million at the end of the recession in June 2009. (Recession
dates are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research.)
The number of job openings in December (not seasonally adjusted) was
little changed over the year for total nonfarm, total private, and
government. Job openings increased over the year for retail trade,
real estate and rental and leasing, educational services, and health
care and social assistance but decreased in mining and logging and in
professional and business services. The Midwest region experienced an
increase in job openings over the 12 months ending in December. (See
table 7.)
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Job openings | Hires | Total separations
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Industry | Dec. | Nov. | Dec. | Dec. | Nov. | Dec. | Dec. | Nov. | Dec.
| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p
-------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..........................|3,540 |3,790 |3,617 |4,188 |4,403 |4,194 |4,023 |4,222 |4,069
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..............|3,188 |3,427 |3,257 |3,889 |4,111 |3,915 |3,695 |3,915 |3,767
Construction.................| 78 | 89 | 92 | 315 | 380 | 287 | 303 | 369 | 280
Manufacturing................| 252 | 281 | 259 | 269 | 241 | 251 | 239 | 237 | 216
Trade, transportation, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities(2)............| 574 | 740 | 673 | 812 | 886 | 882 | 773 | 785 | 859
Retail trade................| 323 | 496 | 420 | 517 | 591 | 599 | 509 | 513 | 595
Professional and | | | | | | | | |
business services...........| 785 | 632 | 540 | 818 | 930 | 780 | 792 | 866 | 800
Education and health | | | | | | | | |
services(3).................| 605 | 718 | 710 | 494 | 479 | 526 | 468 | 469 | 458
Health care and | | | | | | | | |
social assistance..........| 552 | 656 | 640 | 414 | 425 | 445 | 402 | 409 | 396
Leisure and hospitality......| 441 | 478 | 461 | 743 | 695 | 743 | 695 | 683 | 718
Arts, entertainment | | | | | | | | |
and recreation.............| 44 | 51 | 61 | 141 | 107 | 114 | 133 | 102 | 118
Accommodation and | | | | | | | | |
food services..............| 397 | 427 | 400 | 602 | 588 | 629 | 562 | 582 | 600
Government(4).................| 352 | 363 | 360 | 299 | 293 | 279 | 328 | 307 | 302
State and local..............| 301 | 296 | 299 | 270 | 264 | 246 | 292 | 269 | 263
|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..........................| 2.6 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.0
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..............| 2.8 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.4
Construction.................| 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 6.7 | 5.0
Manufacturing................| 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.8
Trade, transportation, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities(2)............| 2.2 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.4
Retail trade................| 2.1 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 4.0
Professional and | | | | | | | | |
business services...........| 4.3 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.4
Education and health | | | | | | | | |
services(3).................| 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.2
Health care and | | | | | | | | |
social assistance..........| 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.3
Leisure and hospitality......| 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 5.2
Arts, entertainment | | | | | | | | |
and recreation.............| 2.3 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 7.4 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 7.0 | 5.2 | 6.1
Accommodation and | | | | | | | | |
food services..............| 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 5.1
Government(4).................| 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4
State and local..............| 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 educational services, not shown separately.
4 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
p Preliminary
Hires
In December, the hires rate was little changed at 3.1 percent. The
hires rate decreased in construction and in professional and business
services. The hires rate was little changed in all four regions. (See
table 2.) The number of hires in December was 4.2 million, up from 3.7
million at the end of the recession in June 2009.
Over the 12 months ending in December, the hires rate (not seasonally
adjusted) was essentially unchanged for total nonfarm, total private,
and government. The hires rate was little changed in all industries
and in all regions over the 12 months ending in December. (See table
8.)
Separations
The total separations figure 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 December, the quits rate was unchanged at 1.6 percent. The quits
rate was unchanged for total private and little changed for
government. (See table 4.) The number of quits was 2.2 million in
December compared to 1.8 million at the end of the recession in June
2009.
The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) was essentially
unchanged over the 12 months ending in December for total nonfarm,
total private, and government. The quits level increased over the year
in accommodation and food services and in the 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 little changed in December at 1.2 percent. The rate was
essentially unchanged for total private, government, and all four
regions. (See table 5.) The number of layoffs and discharges for total
nonfarm was 1.6 million in December, down from 2.1 million at the end
of the recession in June 2009.
The layoffs and discharges level (not seasonally adjusted) was
essentially unchanged for total nonfarm, total private, and government
over the 12 months ending in December 2012. Over the year, the number
of layoffs and discharges rose in mining and logging and in retail
trade but fell in professional and business services. The number of
layoffs and discharges decreased over the year in the South. (See
table 11.)
In December, there were 345,000 other separations for total nonfarm,
unchanged from the previous month. The number of other separations was
little changed over the year. (See tables 6 and 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 December
2012, hires totaled 51.8 million and separations totaled 50.0 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.
____________
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for January 2013
are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.
(EDT).
_____________________________________________________________________
| Revisions to the JOLTS Data |
| |
| With the release of January data on March 12, BLS will revise the |
| job openings, hires, and separations data to incorporate the |
| annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment |
| estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors. Unadjusted |
| data and seasonally adjusted data from January 2008 forward are |
| subject to revision. |
_____________________________________________________________________
