Job openings little changed at 5.8 million in March; hires edged down to 5.3 million
Last edited Wed Jun 8, 2016, 01:18 PM - Edit history (2)
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Economic News Release USDL-16-0944
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary
For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Technical information: (202) 691-5870 • JoltsInfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/jlt
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov
JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER – MARCH 2016
The number of job openings was little changed at 5.8 million on the last business day of March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires edged down to 5.3 million while separations were little changed at 5.0 million. Within separations, the quits rate was 2.1 percent, and the layoffs and discharges rate was 1.2 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 were little changed at 5.8 million in March. The job openings rate was 3.9 percent. The number of job openings was little changed in March for total private and edged up for government. Job openings increased in professional and business services (+124,000), transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+35,000), and nondurable goods manufacturing (+29,000). Job openings decreased in retail trade (-80,000), educational services (-36,000), and wholesale trade (-35,000). The number of job openings was little changed in all four regions. (See table 1.)
Hires
The number of hires edged down to 5.3 million in March. The hires rate was 3.7 percent. The number of hires decreased for total private (-241,000) and was little changed for government. Hires rose in state and local government education (+23,000), but fell in retail trade (-85,000) and educational services (-21,000). In the regions, hires decreased in the West. (See table 2.)
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.
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The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for April 2016 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
Read more: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm
Previously at DU:
Job openings rise to 5.5 million in January; annual hires and quits increase in 2015
ETA, Junee 8, 2016:
Job Openings at Highest Level Since 2001, But Churn in Job Market Ebbs in March
The number of workers who started a new job or left an old job both declined in March
By Josh Zumbrun
josh.zumbrun@wsj.com
@JoshZumbrun
May 10, 2016 11:17 am ET
Here’s the good news: The number of new job openings is at the highest level dating back 15 years.
Less good: The number of workers who started a new job or left an old job both declined in March, a sign of diminished churn in the job market.
In March, 5.3 million Americans were hired to a new job, compared to 5.5 million in February. About 5 million left a job, down from 5.2 million in February. In both months, the difference was about 200,000 which is a healthy pace of job growth. But the amount of underlying change — which economists generally consider a sign of labor market health — decreased.
