Job openings rate increased to 2.3% in April

There were 3.1 million job openings on the last business day of April 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on June 8. The job openings rate increased over the month to 2.3 percent. The hires rate (3.3 percent) and the separations rate (3.1 percent) were unchanged. This article includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires and separations for the total non-farm sector by industry and geographic region.

Job Openings
The number of job openings increased in April to 3.1 million. Since the most recent trough of 2.3 million in July 2009, the number of job openings has risen by 740,000. The job openings level increased in April for total non-farm and total private. The level decreased for government. The number of job openings was little changed in most industries and in two of the four regions. The level increased in the Northeast and the West.

The number of job openings in April (not seasonally adjusted) increased from 12 months earlier for total non-farm and total private. The job openings level increased in many industries and the number of job openings increased in three of the four regions.

Hires
In April, the hires rate was unchanged for total non-farm at 3.3 percent. The hires rate has remained between 3.0 percent and 3.3 percent since September 2008. The hires rate was little changed in April for all industries and regions.

Over the 12 months ending in April, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) increased for total private and was little changed for total non-farm, government and most industries. The hires rate increased in the Midwest and was little changed in the remaining regions over the year.

Separations
Total separations includes quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (involuntary separations), and other separations (including retirements). The total separations, or turnover, rate remained unchanged in April for total non-farm at 3.1 percent. The rate was also little changed over the month for total private and government. The total separations rate (not seasonally adjusted) decreased over the 12 months ending in April for total non-farm and total private and was little changed for government.

The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to change jobs. In April, the quits rate was unchanged for total non-farm (1.5 percent) and total private (1.7 percent), and the rate for government was little changed (0.4 percent). The rate was little changed over the month for all industries and regions.

Over the 12 months ending in April, the quits rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total non-farm and government but increased for total private. The quits rate was little changed in most industries and three of the four regions over the year. The rate increased in the Northeast.

The layoffs and discharges component of total separations is seasonally adjusted at the total non-farm, total private and government levels. The layoffs and discharges rate was little changed in April for total non-farm, total private and government.

The layoffs and discharges rate (not seasonally adjusted) fell over the 12 months ending in April for total non-farm and total private and was little changed for government. The layoffs and discharges rate fell over the year in many industries and all four regions. The other separations series is not seasonally adjusted. In April, there were 349,000 other separations for total non-farm, 300,000 for total private, and 49,000 for government. Compared to April 2009, the number of other separations was little changed for total non-farm, total private and government.

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 non-farm level attributable to the individual components has varied over time. The proportion of quits had exceeded the proportion of layoffs and discharges every month from the beginning of the series in December 2000 until November 2008 when layoffs and discharges became the larger contributor to total separations. In April 2009, the proportion of quits was 39 percent and began to rise, while the proportion of layoffs and discharges reached a high of 56 percent and began to fall. In February 2010, the relative contribution reversed again with the proportion of quits (47 percent) slightly exceeding the proportion of layoffs and discharges (46 percent). The difference between the proportions for quits (50 percent) and layoffs and discharges (44 percent) increased in April 2010.