Technical information: (202) 691-5870 USDL 08-1670
http://www.bls.gov/jlt/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, November 13, 2008
JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER: SEPTEMBER 2008
On the last business day of September, there were 3.3 million job
openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.3
percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of
Labor reported today. The job openings rate was little changed in
September, while the hires rate increased slightly to 3.2 percent, and
the total separations rate decreased slightly to 3.0 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.
Although the month-to-month changes in job openings, hires, and
turnover data are often small, the trends over time are notable. The
job openings rate remained essentially flat from August 2006 through
September 2007, followed by a downward trend through September 2008.
The hires rate rose in August and September after trending downward
from July 2006 through July 2008. Although the rise in the hires rate
in September was significant, the rate remains low at a level last
seen in 2004. After holding steady for three months, the separations
rate declined to 3.0 percent in September to the lowest point since
August 2003. (See tables 1, 2, and 3.)
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Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally
adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Job openings | Hires | Total separations
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Industry | Sept.| Aug. | Sept.| Sept.| Aug. | Sept.| Sept.| Aug. | Sept.
| 2007 | 2008 | 2008p| 2007 | 2008 | 2008p| 2007 | 2008 | 2008p
-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total(1)...........|4,080 |3,375 |3,254 |4,700 |4,063 |4,364 |4,456 |4,398 |4,053
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1).|3,637 |2,952 |2,828 |4,325 |3,822 |4,094 |4,168 |4,149 |3,790
Construction...| 128 | 85 | 96 | 336 | 322 | 261 | 355 | 400 | 375
Manufacturing..| 314 | 245 | 217 | 352 | 251 | 273 | 374 | 325 | 336
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and| | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)..| 679 | 572 | 474 | 977 | 878 | 877 | 950 | 933 | 940
Retail trade..| 357 | 357 | 272 | 699 | 619 | 626 | 683 | 642 | 598
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services......| 673 | 634 | 578 | 799 | 701 | 807 | 824 | 851 | 713
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices.........| 712 | 643 | 640 | 453 | 509 | 498 | 414 | 424 | 345
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality(3)| 663 | 383 | 417 | 888 | 728 | 814 | 730 | 754 | 723
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.....| 595 | 316 | 363 | 732 | 626 | 678 | 645 | 652 | 643
Government(4)....| 443 | 423 | 434 | 359 | 315 | 312 | 290 | 257 | 253
State and local| | | | | | | | |
government....| 403 | 363 | 376 | 287 | 286 | 285 | 219 | 231 | 233
|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total(1)...........| 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.0
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1).| 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.3
Construction...| 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 5.3
Manufacturing..| 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.5
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and| | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)..| 2.5 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.6
Retail trade..| 2.3 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.9
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services......| 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.0
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices.........| 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.8
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality(3)| 4.7 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 6.6 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.3
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.....| 4.9 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 6.3 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.5
Government(4)....| 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.1
State and local| | | | | | | | |
government....| 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2
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1 Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and
other services, not shown separately.
2 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not
shown separately.
3 Includes arts, entertainment, and recreation, not shown separately.
4 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
p = preliminary.
Job Openings
The job openings rate was little changed in September 2008 but
has been trending downward over the last 12 months. At 2.3 percent in
September, the job openings rate was at the lowest level since April
2004. Although the job openings rate was little changed at the total
nonfarm and total private levels, the rate decreased significantly in
September in the manufacturing and retail trade industries.
Throughout the history of the series, three industries consistently
have had higher job openings rates than the other industries, although
the gap has recently decreased: education and health services (3.3
percent in September), professional and business services (3.1
percent), and accommodation and food services (3.0 percent). (See
table 1.)
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Over the last 12 months, the job openings rate (not seasonally
adjusted) rose significantly only in the federal government (to 1.9
percent). The rate fell over the year for total nonfarm and total
private as well as in most industries, including durable goods
manufacturing; nondurable goods manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail
trade; information; finance and insurance; professional and business
services; health care and social assistance; and accommodation and
food services. The job openings rate also fell over the year in three
of the four regions—Midwest, South, and West. (See table 5.)
Hires
The hires rate rose in September to 3.2 percent. The increase at
the total nonfarm and total private level was due to small rises in
the hires rate for several industries rather than a significant
increase in any particular industry. No industry or region
experienced a significant over-the-month change in the hires rate in
September. As occurs nearly every month, the seasonally adjusted
hires rate was highest in accommodation and food services (5.8
percent) and lowest in state and local government (1.4 percent). (See
table 2.)
Over the past 12 months, the hires rate did not increase
significantly in any industry or region but decreased in a few
industries, including durable goods manufacturing; wholesale trade;
and federal government. Regionally, the hires rate dropped
significantly over the past 12 months in the South. (See table 6.)
Separations
The total separations, or turnover, rate fell to 3.0 percent in
September due to declines in the rates in professional and business
services and in education and health services. Over the past 12
months, the separations rate rose significantly in wholesale trade and
in state and local government; the rate fell in natural resources and
mining; nondurable goods manufacturing; retail trade; health care and
social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and federal
government. Regionally, the separations rate dropped significantly
over the past 12 months in the South. As often occurs, the seasonally
adjusted separations rate was highest in September in accommodation
and food services (5.5 percent) and lowest in state and local
government (1.2 percent). (See tables 3 and 7.)
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’ ability to change jobs, was little changed in
September for total nonfarm (1.5 percent). Although the one-month
change in the quits rate was not significant, the decline in the past
two months puts the rate at the lowest point since August 2003. The
quits rate changed significantly in September only in the construction
industry and in the South region, declining for both. As has occurred
every month since the series began in December 2000, the seasonally
adjusted quits rate was highest in the accommodation and food services
industry (3.8 percent) and lowest in state and local government (0.6
percent). From September 2007 to September 2008, the quits rate fell
for total nonfarm and total private and in many industries, including
natural resources and mining; nondurable goods manufacturing; finance
and insurance; professional and business services; health care and
social assistance; other services; and federal government. The quits
rate also fell over the year in three of the four regions—Northeast,
South, and West. The quits rate did not rise significantly over the
past 12 months in any industry or region. (See tables 4 and 8.)
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The other two components of total separations—layoffs and
discharges, and other separations—are not seasonally adjusted. In
September, the layoffs and discharges rate (1.4 percent) and level
(1.9 million) were little changed from a year earlier. The layoffs and
discharges rate was highest in arts, entertainment, and recreation
(4.5 percent) and lowest in federal government (0.2 percent). The
other separations rate (0.2 percent) and level (296,000) were
essentially unchanged from a year earlier at the total nonfarm level.
(See tables 9 and 10.)
The total separations rate is driven by the relative contribution
of its three components (quits, layoffs and discharges, and other
separations), with quits contributing the largest portion. The
percentage of total separations attributable to quits has varied over
time. The proportion of total separations due to quits (seasonally
adjusted) rose from a post-recession low of 50 percent in December
2003 to a high of 61 percent in December 2006 before trending downward
again. Quits accounted for only 52 percent of total separations in
September 2008, down considerably in 2008 as quits decreased and
layoffs increased. (See tables 3 and 4.)
Flows in the Labor Market
Several industries consistently have high rates of both hires and
separations. These include construction; retail trade; professional
and business services; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and
accommodation and food services. In the 12 months ending in September
2008, these 5 industries produced 31.2 million hires and 31.3 million
separations, accounting for 58 percent of total nonfarm hires and 59
percent of total nonfarm separations while comprising only 39 percent
of total nonfarm employment.
For More Information
For additional information, please read the Technical Note or
visit the JOLTS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/jlt/. Additional
information about JOLTS also may be obtained by e-mailing
Joltsinfo@bls.gov or by calling (202) 691-5870.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover release for October 2008 is
scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, December 9.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
