For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, October 10, 2012 USDL-12-2030
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Job Openings and Labor Turnover – August 2012
There were 3.6 million job openings on the last business day of
August, essentially unchanged from July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. The hires rate (3.3 percent) and
separations rate (3.3 percent) were little changed in August. 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 August was 3.6 million, essentially
unchanged from July. (See table 1.) The number of openings was little
changed in all industries except accommodation and food services,
where the number decreased. The number of openings was also little
changed in all four regions in August. The level of total nonfarm job
openings in August was up from 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 August (not seasonally adjusted)
increased over the year for total nonfarm and total private, and was
little changed for government. Job openings increased over the year
for nondurable goods manufacturing, wholesale trade, finance and
insurance, and federal government, but fell in mining and logging. The
Northeast and South regions experienced a rise in job openings over
the year. (See table 7.)
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Job openings | Hires | Total separations
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Industry | Aug. | July | Aug. | Aug. | July | Aug. | Aug. | July | Aug.
| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p
-------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..........................|3,152 |3,593 |3,561 |4,221 |4,278 |4,390 |4,112 |4,088 |4,354
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..............|2,818 |3,211 |3,192 |3,932 |3,989 |4,087 |3,835 |3,789 |4,042
Construction.................| 103 | 67 | 82 | 325 | 359 | 308 | 338 | 358 | 312
Manufacturing................| 238 | 273 | 255 | 257 | 244 | 233 | 247 | 228 | 248
Trade, transportation, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities(2)............| 491 | 585 | 605 | 823 | 848 | 888 | 805 | 815 | 876
Retail trade................| 321 | 334 | 353 | 544 | 570 | 582 | 544 | 556 | 585
Professional and | | | | | | | | |
business services...........| 622 | 641 | 708 | 890 | 871 | 934 | 845 | 807 | 935
Education and health | | | | | | | | |
services(3).................| 606 | 689 | 657 | 489 | 500 | 505 | 460 | 463 | 480
Health care and | | | | | | | | |
social assistance..........| 542 | 604 | 596 | 414 | 427 | 433 | 382 | 396 | 405
Leisure and hospitality......| 362 | 469 | 414 | 711 | 720 | 731 | 716 | 685 | 721
Arts, entertainment | | | | | | | | |
and recreation.............| 41 | 50 | 56 | 115 | 106 | 98 | 116 | 105 | 85
Accommodation and | | | | | | | | |
food services..............| 321 | 419 | 358 | 596 | 614 | 633 | 600 | 579 | 636
Government(4).................| 334 | 382 | 369 | 290 | 288 | 302 | 276 | 299 | 312
State and local government...| 287 | 329 | 307 | 263 | 268 | 273 | 245 | 271 | 281
|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..........................| 2.3 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.3
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..............| 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.6
Construction.................| 1.8 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 5.7
Manufacturing................| 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.1
Trade, transportation, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities(2)............| 1.9 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.5
Retail trade................| 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.0
Professional and | | | | | | | | |
business services...........| 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 5.2
Education and health | | | | | | | | |
services(3).................| 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.4
Health care and | | | | | | | | |
social assistance..........| 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.4
Leisure and hospitality......| 2.6 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 5.3
Arts, entertainment | | | | | | | | |
and recreation.............| 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 5.5 | 4.4
Accommodation and | | | | | | | | |
food services..............| 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 4.9 | 5.4
Government(4).................| 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.4
State and local government...| 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 August, the hires rate was little changed at 3.3 percent. The hires
rate also was little changed in all industries and regions. (See table
2.) The number of hires in August was 4.4 million, up from 3.7 million
at the end of the recession in June 2009.
Over the 12 months ending in August, the hires rate (not seasonally
adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and
government. The hires rate was up for finance and insurance and little
changed in all other industries and all four regions. (See table 8.)
Separations
The total separations figure includes quits, layoffs and discharges,
and other separations. Total separations is also 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 August, the total separations rate was essentially unchanged for
total nonfarm and total private, and unchanged for government. (See
table 3.) Over the year, the total separations rate (not seasonally
adjusted) was essentially unchanged for total nonfarm and total
private but rose for government. (See table 9.)
In August, the quits rate was unchanged for total nonfarm, total
private, and government. (See table 4.) The number of quits was 2.1
million in August, up from 1.8 million at the end of the recession in
June 2009.
The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) in August was little
changed over the year for total nonfarm and total private but rose for
government. Quits also increased over the year in several industries
and in the Northeast. (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 rose in August for total nonfarm and total private but was
unchanged for government. The layoffs and discharges rate increased in
the South in August. (See table 5.) The number of layoffs and
discharges for total nonfarm was 1.8 million in August, down from 2.1
million at the end of the recession in June 2009.
The layoffs and discharges level (not seasonally adjusted) was little
changed for total nonfarm, total private, and government over the 12
months ending in August 2012. Two industries experienced increases in
layoffs and discharges over the year, while one reported a decrease.
The number of layoffs and discharges was essentially unchanged over
the year in all four regions. (See table 11.)
In August, there were 365,000 other separations for total nonfarm,
little changed from the previous month but up 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 August
2012, hires totaled 51.6 million and separations totaled 49.8 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 September 2012
are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 10:00
a.m. (EST).
