Job openings rose to 5.6 million on the last business day
of December. Hires were little changed at 5.4 million and quits increased to
3.1 million. Separations were little changed at 5.1 million. The quits rate was
2.1 percent and the layoffs and discharges rate was 1.1 percent.
The number of job openings increased to 5.6 million on
the last business day of December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Hires and separations were little changed at 5.4 million and 5.1
million, respectively. Within separations, the quits rate was 2.1 percent, and
the layoffs and discharges rate was 1.1 percent. 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
Job openings rose to 5.6 million in December. The job
openings rate was 3.8 percent. The number of job openings increased in December
for total private and was little changed for government. Job openings increased
in construction (+69,000), nondurable goods manufacturing (+60,000), and
durable goods manufacturing (+26,000). In the regions, job openings increased
in the West over the month. (See table 1.)
The number of job openings (not seasonally adjusted)
increased over the 12 months ending in
December for total nonfarm and total private, and edged
up for government. Job openings rose in several industries over the year with
the largest changes in health care and social assistance (+172,000) and finance
and insurance (+99,000). The number of job openings increased over the year in
the Northeast, Midwest, and West regions. (See table 7.)
Hires
The number of hires was 5.4 million in December, little
changed from November. The number of hires is now higher than in December 2007
(5.0 million), the first month of the recession. The hires rate was 3.7 percent
in December 2015. The number of hires was little changed for total private and
government in December. The number of hires edged up in professional and
business services and was little changed in all other industries and in the
regions. (See table 2.)
Over the 12 months ending in December, the number of
hires (not seasonally adjusted) was little
changed for total nonfarm and total private and edged up
for government. At the industry level, hires increased in accommodation and
food services (+93,000); transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+43,000);
and federal government (+11,000). Hires edged down in construction. The number
of hires was little changed in all four regions over the year. (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 includes separations due to retirement, death, and
disability, as well as transfers to other locations of the same firm.
There were 5.1 million total separations in December,
little changed from November. The total
separations rate was 3.5 percent. The number of total
separations was little changed for total private and government. In December,
total separations edged up in accommodation and food services and in state and
local government. The number of total separations was little changed in all
four regions. (See table 3.)
There were 3.1 million quits in December, up from
November. The number of quits is now higher than in December 2007 (2.8
million), the first month of the recession. The quits rate was 2.1 percent in December
2015. The number of quits rose for total private and government over the month.
Quits rose in state and local government (+20,000) but fell in nondurable goods
manufacturing (-25,000). Quits increased in the South region over the month.
(See table 4.)
The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) increased
over the 12 months ending in December for total nonfarm, total private, and
government. Quits increased over the year in several industries with the largest
changes occurring in professional and business services (+102,000),
accommodation and food services (+68,000), and retail trade (+58,000). In the
regions, quits rose in the South and Midwest. (See table 10.)
There were 1.6 million layoffs and discharges in
December, little changed from November. 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 unchanged for government. Layoffs and discharges was
little changed 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) decreased over the 12 months ending in December for total nonfarm and
total private and edged up for government. The number of layoffs and discharges
rose in mining and logging (+7,000) and fell in construction (-129,000) and
retail trade (-64,000). The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed
in all four regions over the year. (See table 11.)
In December, there were 411,000 other separations for
total nonfarm, little changed from November. Over the month, the number of
other separations was little changed for total private at 343,000 and for government
at 68,000. (See table 6.) Seasonally adjusted estimates of other separations
are not available for individual industries or regions.
Over the 12 months ending in December, the number of
other separations (not seasonally adjusted) fell for total nonfarm and total
private and was little changed for government. Other separations increased over
the year in federal government (+7,000). Other separations decreased in the
South region over the year. (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 December 2015, hires totaled 61.4 million and separations totaled
58.8 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.6 million. These totals
include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the
year.
Table
11. Layoffs and discharges levels and rates by industry and region, not
seasonally adjusted Table
12. Other separations levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally
adjusted
Source: BLS
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