The job openings, hires, and total separations rates showed little or no change in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The job openings rate was unchanged at 2.4 percent. The hires rate remained at 3.3 percent, and the total separations rate was essentially unchanged at 3.2 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
On the last business day of September 2004, there were 3.2 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.4 percent. The overall job openings rate is 0.4 percentage point higher than its most recent low in August 2003. In September, the job openings rate showed little or no change for the major industry categories.
Hires and Separations
The hires rate (the number of hires during the month divided by employment) was 3.3 percent in September, unchanged from a month earlier. Hires are any additions to the payroll during the month. The hires rate decreased in trade, transportation, and utilities and in education and health services over the month, while other major industries showed little change in their hires rates.The total separations, or turnover, rate (the total number of separations during the month divided by employment) was 3.2 percent in September and has remained in the range of 2.9 to 3.3 percent since December 2001. Separations are terminations of employment that occur at any time during the month. The total separations rate increased in government in September, following a decrease in August. Other major industries showed little or no change in their total separations rates in September.
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 1.7 percent in September and has been unchanged since February 2004. The quits rate increased in manufacturing from a month earlier. The other two components of total separations, layoffs and discharges (1.3 percent) and other separations (0.2 percent) are not seasonally adjusted. The layoffs and discharges rate was little changed from a year earlier, and the other separations rate was unchanged.
Hires and separations help show dynamic flows in the labor market. Over the last 12 months, hires have averaged 4.3 million per month and separations have averaged 4.0 million per month.
