Job openings little changed in Jan at 7.6 million; annual hires and quits rise in 2018

Economic News Release USDL-19-0404

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, March 15, 2019

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 – JANUARY 2019

The number of job openings was little changed at 7.6 million on the last business day of January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires and separations were little changed at 5.8 million and 5.6 million, respectively. Within separations, the quits rate was unchanged at 2.3 percent and the layoffs and discharges rate was little changed at 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. The release also includes 2018 annual estimates for hires and separations. The annual number of hires at 68.9 million and the annual number of quits at 40.1 million increased in 2018. The annual number of layoffs and discharges at 21.9 million edged up in 2018.

Job Openings

On the last business day of January, the job openings level was little changed at 7.6 million. The job openings rate was 4.8 percent. The number of job openings was little changed for total private and increased for government (+59,000). Job openings increased in a number of industries, with the largest increases in wholesale trade (+91,000), real estate and rental and leasing (+60,000), and information (+42,000). The job openings level decreased in other services (-98,000), retail trade (-97,000), and arts, entertainment, and recreation (-40,000). The number of job openings was little changed in all four regions. (See table 1.)

___________________________________________________________________________
Revisions and Methodology Change
Job openings, hires, and separations have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors. Additionally, a new methodology for item imputation has been implemented. See the revision section at the end of this release for more information.
___________________________________________________________________________

Hires

The number of hires was little changed at 5.8 million in January. The hires rate was 3.9 percent. The hires level was little changed for total private and for government. The number of hires was little changed in all industries and all four regions. (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, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm.
....

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 January, hires totaled 69.2 million and separations totaled 66.3 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.8 million. These totals include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.
....

____________
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for February 2019 are scheduled to be
released on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).