JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER – FEBRUARY 2015
There were 5.1 million job openings on the last business
day of February, little changed from 5.0 million in January, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. Hires were little changed at 4.9 million in February
and separations were little changed at 4.7 million. Within separations, the quits
rate was 1.9 percent and the layoffs and discharges rate was 1.1 percent; both
rates were little different from the previous month. This release includes
estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for
the nonfarm sector by industry and by four geographic regions.
Job Openings
There were 5.1 million job openings on the last business
day of February, little changed from January. This was the highest level of job
openings since January 2001. The job openings rate for February was 3.5
percent. The number of job openings was little changed for total private and
government and no industries posted significant changes from January. Job
openings increased in the Midwest region. (See table 1.)
The number of job openings (not seasonally adjusted)
increased over the 12 months ending in February for total nonfarm, total
private, and government. Job openings increased over the year for many industries
including professional and business services, health care and social
assistance, and accommodation and food services. Job openings decreased over
the year in mining and logging. The number of openings increased over the year
in all four regions. (See table 7.)
Hires
There were 4.9 million hires in February, about the same
as in January. The hires rate in February was 3.5 percent. The number of hires
was little changed for total private and government in February. There was
little to no change in the number of hires in all industries over the
month. In the regions, the number of
hires increased in the Northeast and decreased in the South. (See table 2.)
Over the 12 months ending in February, the number of
hires (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm, total
private, and government. The number of hires was little changed in all
industries and increased in the Northeast region. (See table 8.)
Separations
Total separations includes quits, layoffs and discharges,
and other separations. Total separations 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.
There were 4.7 million total separations in February,
about the same as in January. The separations rate was 3.3 percent. The number
of total separations was little changed in total private and government and in
all four regions. (See table 3.)
There were 2.7 million quits in February, about the same
as in January. The quits rate in February was 1.9 percent. The number of quits
was little changed for total private and government over the month. The number
of quits was changed little in February for all industries and decreased in the
Northeast region. (See table 4.)
The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) increased
over the 12 months ending in February for total nonfarm and total private and
was little changed for government. Over the year, quits increased in professional
and business services and in health care and social assistance. The number of
quits increased over the year in the Midwest and West regions. (See table 10.)
There were 1.6 million layoffs and discharges in
February, about the same as in January. The layoffs and discharges rate was 1.1
percent. The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed over the month
for total private and government, and in all four regions. (See table 5.)
Seasonally adjusted estimates of layoffs and discharges are not available for
individual industries.
The number of layoffs and discharges (not seasonally
adjusted) was little changed over the 12 months ending in February for total
nonfarm, total private, and government. The number of layoffs and discharges
increased in mining and logging, and was changed little in all four regions.
(See table 11.)
In February, there were 373,000 other separations for
total nonfarm, about the same as in January. Over the month, the number of
other separations was little changed for total private at 310,000 and was little
changed for government at 64,000. (See table 6.) Seasonally adjusted estimates
of other separations are not available for individual industries or regions.
Over the 12 months ending in February, the number of
other separations (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total
nonfarm, total private, and government. Other separations increased over the
year in information and in arts, entertainment, and recreation. The number
decreased in transportation, warehousing, and utilities and in federal
government. Other separations were little changed in all four regions. (See
table 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 February 2015, hires totaled 59.3 million and separations totaled
56.1 million, yielding a net employment gain of 3.2 million. These figures
include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the
year.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Source: NLRB
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