For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, March 13, 2012 USDL-12-0447 

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 2012

There were 3.5 million job openings on the last business day of January, unchanged from December, the 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The hires rate (3.1 percent) and separations rate (3.0 

percent) were little changed over the month. The job openings rate has trended upward since the end of 

the recession in June 2009. (Recession dates are determined by the National Bureau of Economic 

Research.) This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations 

for the nonfarm sector by industry and by geographic region for January 2012. The release also includes 

2011 annual estimates for hires and separations. The annual totals for hires and quits increased in 2011 

while the annual total for layoffs and discharges decreased.

Job Openings

The number of job openings in January was 3.5 million, unchanged from December. (See table 1.) 

Although the number of job openings remained below the 4.3 million openings when the recession 

began in December 2007, the number of job openings has increased 45 percent since the end of the 

recession in June 2009. 

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2.0

2.2

2.4

2.6

2.8

3.0

3.2

3.4

3.6

Percent

2010 2011 2012

Chart 1. Job openings rate, seasonally adjusted,

February 2009 - January 2012

NOTE: The shaded area represents the recession that began in Dec. 2007 and ended in June 2009

as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). 

2.0

2.2

2.4

2.6

2.8

3.0

3.2

3.4

3.6

3.8

4.0

Hires

Separations

Percent

2010 2011 2012

Chart 2. Hires and separations rates, seasonally adjusted,

February 2009 - January 2012

NOTE: The shaded area represents the recession that began in Dec. 2007 and ended in June 2009

as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). 

Revisions to the JOLTS Data

Effective with this release, revisions incorporating improvements to the JOLTS birth-death model 

have been made to the full data series for job openings, hires, and separations. In addition, data from 

January 2007 forward incorporate annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment 

estimates and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey seasonal adjustment factors. See page 5 

for more information on all the revisions. Also effective with this release, JOLTS is adopting the 

2012 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Changes in the 2012 

NAICS structure are minor and do not impact the published JOLTS data series. 
- 2 - 

The number of job openings in January (not seasonally adjusted) increased over the year for total 

nonfarm and total private; the level was little changed for government. Several industries had increases 

in the number of job openings over the year. The Midwest and South regions also experienced an 

increase in the number of job openings over the year. (See table 5.) 

Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally adjusted

Industry Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2012p

Total ......................................................2,860 3,540 3,459 3,934 4,188 4,158 3,816 4,023 3,944

Total private 1....................................... 2,536 3,188 3,107 3,671 3,889 3,835 3,560 3,695 3,619

Construction....................................... 67 78 82 288 315 307 309 303 290

Manufacturing.................................... 212 252 285 259 269 246 223 239 213

Trade, transportation, and utilities 2......... 502 574 554 834 812 822 784 773 810

Retail trade..................................... 282 323 317 568 517 552 533 509 566

Professional and business services......... 478 785 729 827 818 779 772 792 705

Education and health services 3

............ 506 605 611 439 494 499 423 468 481

 Health care and social assistance...... 443 552 554 358 414 419 355 402 398

Leisure and hospitality ........................ 294 441 437 621 743 768 624 695 708

Arts, entertainment, and recreation...... 37 44 79 95 141 146 104 133 125

Accommodation and food services...... 257 397 358 527 602 622 520 562 582

Government 4..................................... 325 352 352 263 299 323 256 328 325

 State and local government.................. 258 301 302 231 270 303 227 292 299

Total ................................................... 2.1 2.6 2.5 3.0 3.2 3.1 2.9 3.0 3.0

Total private 1....................................... 2.3 2.8 2.7 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.3 3.4 3.3

Construction....................................... 1.2 1.4 1.5 5.3 5.7 5.5 5.7 5.5 5.2

Manufacturing.................................... 1.8 2.1 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.1 1.9 2.0 1.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities 2

......... 2.0 2.2 2.1 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.2

Retail trade.................................... 1.9 2.1 2.1 3.9 3.5 3.7 3.7 3.5 3.8

Professional and business services......... 2.7 4.3 4.0 4.8 4.6 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.0

Education and health services 3............ 2.5 2.9 2.9 2.2 2.5 2.5 2.1 2.3 2.4

 Health care and social assistance...... 2.6 3.2 3.2 2.2 2.5 2.5 2.2 2.4 2.4

Leisure and hospitality ........................ 2.2 3.2 3.1 4.7 5.5 5.7 4.7 5.2 5.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation...... 1.9 2.3 3.9 5.0 7.4 7.6 5.5 7.0 6.5

Accommodation and food services...... 2.2 3.3 3.0 4.7 5.2 5.4 4.6 4.9 5.0

Government 4..................................... 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.2 1.5 1.5

 State and local government.................. 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.2 1.5 1.6

 1 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not show n separately.

 2 Includes w holesale trade and transportation, w arehousing, and utilities, not show n separately.

 3 Includes educational services, not show n separately.

 4 Includes federal government, not show n separately.

 p = Preliminary

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics 

employment estimates, the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors, and a revised birth/death model.

Rates (percent)

Job openings Hires Total separations

Levels (in thousands)
- 3 - 

Hires

In January, the hires rate was essentially unchanged at 3.1 percent for total nonfarm. The hires rate was 

little changed over the month in all industries and regions. (See table 2.) The number of hires in January

was 4.2 million, still below the 5.0 million hires at the beginning of the recession (December 2007) but 

up 13 percent since the end of the recession (June 2009).

Over the past 12 months, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm and

total private but increased for government. The hires rate rose over the year in mining and logging; arts, 

entertainment, and recreation; and state and local government. The hires rate fell over the year in federal 

government. In all four regions, the hires rate was little changed over the year. (See table 6.) 

Separations 

The total separations figure includes voluntary quits, involuntary layoffs and discharges, and other 

separations, including retirements. Total separations is also referred to as turnover.

The seasonally adjusted total separations rate was little changed in January for total nonfarm, total 

private, and government. (See table 3.) Over the year, the total separations rate (not seasonally adjusted) 

was little changed for total nonfarm and total private but increased for government. (See table 7.) 

The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to change jobs. In January, the 

quits rate was unchanged for total nonfarm, total private, and government. (See table 4.) The number of 

quits rose to 2.0 million in January from 1.8 million at the end of the recession in June 2009, although it 

remained below the 2.9 million recorded when the recession began in December 2007. 

The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) in January 2012 increased from January 2011 for total 

nonfarm, total private, and government. One region—the Northeast—experienced an increase in the 

number of quits over the year; the other regions had little change in the number of quits. (See table 8.)

The layoffs and discharges component of total separations is seasonally adjusted at the total nonfarm, 

total private, and government levels. Beginning with this release, layoffs and discharges is also 

seasonally adjusted for the regions. The layoffs and discharges rate was essentially unchanged in 

January 2012 for total nonfarm, total private, government, and in all four regions. The number of layoffs 

and discharges for total nonfarm was 1.6 million in January, down from 2.1 million at the end of the 

recession in June 2009. (See table B.)

The layoffs and discharges level (not seasonally adjusted) for total nonfarm and total private was little 

changed from January 2011 to January 2012 but increased for government. Over the year, the number of 

layoffs and discharges rose for educational services and state and local government but fell for finance 

and insurance. In the regions, the West experienced an increase in the number of layoffs and discharges 

over the year while the South experienced a decrease. (See table 9.)
- 4 - 

Beginning with this release, the other separations component of total separations is seasonally adjusted 

at the total nonfarm, total private, and government levels. Other separations include separations due to 

retirement, death, and disability, as well as transfers to other locations of the same firm. In January 2012, 

there were 326,000 other separations for total nonfarm, 260,000 for total private, and 66,000 for 

government. (See table C.) The number of other separations for total nonfarm in January 2012 was 11 

percent higher than at the end of the recession in June 2009. 

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 2012, hires totaled 50.2 

million and separations totaled 48.3 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.0 million. These 

figures include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year. 

Table B. Layoffs and discharges, seasonally adjusted

Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2012p

Total...............................................................1,659 1,685 1,646 1.3 1.3 1.2

Total private...................................................1,577 1,572 1,517 1.5 1.4 1.4

Government................................................... 82 112 129 0.4 0.5 0.6

Northeast...................................................... 277 296 270 1.1 1.2 1.1

South......................................................... 709 649 611 1.5 1.4 1.3

Midwest...................................................... 376 354 353 1.3 1.2 1.2

West............................................................ 298 386 411 1.0 1.3 1.4

 1 For region definitions see footnote 8, table 1.

 p = Preliminary

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics 

employment estimates, the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors, and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region1

Levels (in thousands) Rates (percent)

Table C. Other Separations, seasonally adjusted

Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2012p

Total............................................................... 354 330 326 0.3 0.2 0.2

Total private................................................... 290 255 260 0.3 0.2 0.2

Government................................................... 64 75 66 0.3 0.3 0.3

 p = Preliminary

 NOTE: Data incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment estimates,

the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors, and a revised birth/death factor.

Industry

Levels (in thousands) Rates (percent)
- 5 - 

Annual Levels and Rates 

This release contains the 2011 annual levels and rates for hires, total separations, quits, layoffs and 

discharges, and other separations. Note that annual figures for job openings are not calculated because 

job openings are measured on a stock, or point-in-time, basis rather than on a flow basis over a specified 

time period. The annual figures and additional tables are published with the release of January data each 

year. (See the Technical Note for additional information on these measures.) 

Calculating annual levels and rates allows additional comparisons across years. In 2011, annual hires, 

quits, and other separations rose for the second year in a row while layoffs and discharges annual levels 

fell for the second year in a row. 

In 2011, annual hires increased to 50.1 million (38.1 percent of employment) and annual total 

separations rose to 48.2 million (36.7 percent of employment). Annual quits increased to 23.6 million 

(17.9 percent of employment) in 2011. Annual other separations also increased in 2011 to 3.9 million 

(3.0 percent of employment). Annual layoffs and discharges decreased in 2011 to 20.7 million (15.8 

percent of employment). (See tables 11 through 20.) 

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for February 2012 are scheduled to be 

released on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).

Revisions to Job Openings and Labor Turnover Data

In accordance with annual practice, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data have 

been revised to reflect annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics (CES), or establishment 

survey, employment estimates. The JOLTS employment levels (not published) are ratio-adjusted to the 

CES employment levels, and the resulting ratios are applied to all JOLTS data elements. This annual 

benchmark process resulted in revisions to all not seasonally adjusted JOLTS data series from April 

2010 forward, the time period since the last benchmark was established. Additionally, the seasonally 

adjusted JOLTS data series have been recalculated from January 2007 forward to reflect updated 

seasonal adjustment factors. Further, the methodology incorporated in 2009 to more closely align the 

hires and separations estimates with the monthly payroll employment change created a dependency of 

the not seasonally adjusted estimates on the seasonal adjustment process. Therefore, the not seasonally 

adjusted data series have been recalculated from January 2007 forward to reflect the updated seasonal 

adjustment factors’ effect on the alignment process.

Effective with this release, BLS has implemented an improved birth/death model in the JOLTS program. 

Data from December 2000 forward were revised using the improved model. The original birth/death 

model was implemented in 2009 to provide an estimate for that part of the population that cannot be 

captured in the traditional sample. The improved model better distributes business births and deaths 

throughout the calendar year. (See the Technical Note for a more complete description of the revised 

birth/death model.) 

Also effective with this release, several additional data series will be published on a seasonally adjusted 

basis. Job openings, hires, and separations data for the health care and social assistance industry are 

available online and are published in this release in tables A, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Layoffs and discharges data 

by region are available online and published in table B of this release. Other separations data by 
- 6 - 

ownership (total nonfarm, total private, and total government) are available online and published in a 

new table C in this release. The previous table C in this release has been dropped. The quits and layoffs 

and discharges levels in the previous table C remain available on the JOLTS website, enabling users to 

calculate the percentage contribution to total separations that were contained in the table.

Tables D through I present revised total nonfarm data for January through December 2011. The 

December 2011 revisions also reflect the routine incorporation of additional sample receipts into the 

final December estimates. Table D (job openings), table E (hires), table F (total separations), table G 

(quits), and table H (layoffs and discharges) present revised data on a seasonally adjusted basis, 

incorporating the new seasonal adjustment factors, benchmark level, and birth/death model update. 

Table I (other separations) presents revisions on a not seasonally adjusted basis since that series was not 

available on a seasonally adjusted basis last year. Tables presenting revisions to historical series will be 

available on the JOLTS website in the near future. 

The JOLTS website contains all revised historical seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted 

JOLTS data. The data can be accessed through the JOLTS homepage at http://www.bls.gov/jlt/. 

Further information on the revisions released today may be obtained by calling (202) 691-5870 or via 

the Internet on the JOLTS homepage. 

Table D. Revisions in job openings data, January-December 2011, seasonally adjusted

Levels (in thousands) Rates

As

previously

 published

As revised Difference

As

previously

 published

As revised Difference

2011

January........................ 2,741 2,860 119 2.1 2.1 0.0

February........................ 3,025 3,012 -13 2.3 2.3 .0

March........................... 3,123 3,189 66 2.3 2.4 .1

April.............................. 2,953 3,014 61 2.2 2.2 .0

May.............................. 3,034 3,077 43 2.3 2.3 .0

June.............................. 3,169 3,241 72 2.4 2.4 .0

July.............................. 3,213 3,366 153 2.4 2.5 .1

August........................ 3,129 3,152 23 2.3 2.3 .0

September..................... 3,377 3,501 124 2.5 2.6 .1

October........................ 3,224 3,408 184 2.4 2.5 .1

November..................... 3,118 3,274 156 2.3 2.4 .1

December..................... 3,376 3,540 164 2.5 2.6 .1

Year and month
- 7 - 

Table E. Revisions in hires data, January-December 2011, seasonally adjusted

Levels (in thousands) Rates

As

previously

 published

As revised Difference

As

previously

 published

As revised Difference

2011

January........................ 3,769 3,934 165 2.9 3.0 0.1

February........................ 3,986 4,089 103 3.1 3.1 .0

March........................... 4,067 4,293 226 3.1 3.3 .2

April.............................. 4,001 4,015 14 3.1 3.1 .0

May.............................. 4,129 4,182 53 3.2 3.2 .0

June.............................. 4,058 4,208 150 3.1 3.2 .1

July.............................. 3,976 4,112 136 3.0 3.1 .1

August........................ 4,060 4,221 161 3.1 3.2 .1

September..................... 4,150 4,276 126 3.2 3.2 .0

October........................ 4,042 4,220 178 3.1 3.2 .1

November..................... 4,132 4,268 136 3.1 3.2 .1

December..................... 4,046 4,188 142 3.1 3.2 .1

Year and month

Table F. Revisions in total separations data, January-December 2011, seasonally adjusted

Levels (in thousands) Rates

As

previously

 published

As revised Difference

As

previously

 published

As revised Difference

2011

January........................ 3,612 3,816 204 2.8 2.9 0.1

February........................ 3,825 3,877 52 2.9 3.0 .1

March........................... 3,805 3,988 183 2.9 3.0 .1

April.............................. 3,833 3,799 -34 2.9 2.9 .0

May.............................. 4,145 4,177 32 3.2 3.2 .0

June.............................. 3,993 4,112 119 3.0 3.1 .1

July.............................. 3,962 4,023 61 3.0 3.1 .1

August........................ 3,960 4,112 152 3.0 3.1 .1

September..................... 4,052 4,089 37 3.1 3.1 .0

October........................ 3,898 4,065 167 3.0 3.1 .1

November..................... 3,986 4,057 71 3.0 3.1 .1

December..................... 3,909 4,023 114 3.0 3.0 .0

Year and month
- 8 - 

Table G. Revisions in quits data, January-December 2011, seasonally adjusted

Levels (in thousands) Rates

As

previously

 published

As revised Difference

As

previously

 published

As revised Difference

2011 

January........................ 1,679 1,803 124 1.3 1.4 0.1

February........................ 1,910 1,918 8 1.5 1.5 .0

March........................... 1,924 1,979 55 1.5 1.5 .0

April.............................. 1,887 1,874 -13 1.4 1.4 .0

May.............................. 2,000 1,996 -4 1.5 1.5 .0

June.............................. 1,904 1,930 26 1.5 1.5 .0

July.............................. 1,969 2,002 33 1.5 1.5 .0

August........................ 2,006 2,048 42 1.5 1.6 .1

September..................... 2,000 2,015 15 1.5 1.5 .0

October........................ 1,923 1,983 60 1.5 1.5 .0

November..................... 1,955 1,976 21 1.5 1.5 .0

December..................... 1,926 2,008 82 1.5 1.5 .0

Year and month

Table H. Revisions in layoffs and discharges data, January-December 2011, seasonally adjusted

Levels (in thousands) Rates

As

previously

 published

As revised Difference

As

previously

 published

As revised Difference

2011 

January........................ 1,541 1,659 118 1.2 1.3 0.1

February........................ 1,620 1,624 4 1.2 1.2 .0

March........................... 1,606 1,690 84 1.2 1.3 .1

April.............................. 1,603 1,616 13 1.2 1.2 .0

May.............................. 1,837 1,843 6 1.4 1.4 .0

June.............................. 1,773 1,850 77 1.4 1.4 .0

July.............................. 1,694 1,681 -13 1.3 1.3 .0

August........................ 1,687 1,755 68 1.3 1.3 .0

September..................... 1,723 1,765 42 1.3 1.3 .0

October........................ 1,595 1,740 145 1.2 1.3 .1

November..................... 1,718 1,770 52 1.3 1.3 .0

December..................... 1,644 1,685 41 1.2 1.3 .1

Year and month
- 9 - 

Table I. Revisions in other separations data, January-December 2011, not seasonally adjusted

Levels (in thousands) Rates

As

previously

 published

As revised Difference

As

previously

 published

As revised Difference

2011 

January........................ 462 456 -6 0.4 0.4 0.0

February........................ 295 285 -10 0.2 0.2 .0

March........................... 271 269 -2 0.2 0.2 .0

April.............................. 305 307 2 0.2 0.2 .0

May.............................. 311 324 13 0.2 0.2 .0

June.............................. 392 385 -7 0.3 0.3 .0

July.............................. 383 401 18 0.3 0.3 .0

August........................ 319 318 -1 0.2 0.2 .0

September..................... 305 299 -6 0.2 0.2 .0

October........................ 333 333 0 0.3 0.3 .0

November..................... 237 243 6 0.2 0.2 .0

December..................... 330 323 -7 0.2 0.2 .0

 NOTE: Data in this table are not seasonally adjusted because seasonally adjusted data for this series

(from December 2000 forward) did not become available until 2012.

Year and month
Technical Note

 The data for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover 

Survey (JOLTS) are collected and compiled monthly 

from a sample of business establishments by the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Collection

 In a monthly survey of business establishments, data 

are collected for total employment, job openings, hires, 

quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. 

Data collection methods include computer-assisted 

telephone interviewing, touchtone data entry, web, fax, 

e-mail, and mail.

Coverage

 The JOLTS program covers all private nonfarm establishments such as factories, offices, and stores, as well 

as federal, state, and local government entities in the 50 

states and the District of Columbia.

Concepts

 Industry classification. The industry classifications 

in this release are in accordance with the 2012 version 

of the North American Industry Classification System 

(NAICS). In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, State Workforce Agencies verify with 

employers and update, if necessary, the industry code, 

location, and ownership classification of all establishments on a 3-year cycle. Changes in establishment 

characteristics resulting from the verification process 

are always introduced into the JOLTS sampling frame

with the data reported for the first month of the year.

 Employment. Employment includes persons on the 

payroll who worked or received pay for the pay period 

that includes the 12th day of the reference month. Fulltime, part-time, permanent, short-term, seasonal, salaried, and hourly employees are included, as are employees on paid vacations or other paid leave. 

Proprietors or partners of unincorporated businesses, 

unpaid family workers, or persons on leave without pay 

or on strike for the entire pay period, are not counted as 

employed. Employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, outside contractors, and 

consultants are counted by their employer of record, 

not by the establishment where they are working.

 Job openings. Establishments submit job openings 

information for the last business day of the reference 

month. A job opening requires that: 1) a specific position exists and there is work available for that position, 

2) work could start within 30 days regardless of 

whether a suitable candidate is found, and 3) the 

employer is actively recruiting from outside the 

establishment to fill the position. Included are fulltime, part-time, permanent, short-term, and seasonal 

openings. Active recruiting means that the establishment is taking steps to fill a position by advertising in 

newspapers or on the Internet, posting help-wanted 

signs, accepting applications, or using other similar 

methods.

 Jobs to be filled only by internal transfers, promotions, demotions, or recall from layoffs are excluded. 

Also excluded are jobs with start dates more than 30 

days in the future, jobs for which employees have been 

hired but have not yet reported for work, and jobs to be 

filled by employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, outside contractors, or 

consultants. The job openings rate is computed by 

dividing the number of job openings by the sum of 

employment and job openings and multiplying that 

quotient by 100.

 Hires. Hires are the total number of additions to the 

payroll occurring at any time during the reference 

month, including both new and rehired employees, fulltime and part-time, permanent, short-term and seasonal 

employees, employees recalled to the location after a 

layoff lasting more than 7 days, on-call or intermittent 

employees who returned to work after having been 

formally separated, and transfers from other locations. 

The hires count does not include transfers or promotions within the reporting site, employees returning 

from strike, employees of temporary help agencies or 

employee leasing companies, outside contractors, or 

consultants. The hires rate is computed by dividing the 

number of hires by employment and multiplying that 

quotient by 100.

 Separations. Separations are the total number of 

terminations of employment occurring at any time 

during the reference month, and are reported by type of 

separation—quits, layoffs and discharges, and other 

separations. Quits are voluntary separations by employees (except for retirements, which are reported as 

other separations). Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer and 

include layoffs with no intent to rehire; formal layoffs 

lasting or expected to last more than 7 days; discharges 

resulting from mergers, downsizing, or closings; firings 

or other discharges for cause; terminations of permanent or short-term employees; and terminations of 

seasonal employees. Other separations include retirements, transfers to other locations, deaths, and separations due to disability. Separations do not include 

transfers within the same location or employees on 

strike.
 The separations rate is computed by dividing the 

number of separations by employment and multiplying 

that quotient by 100. The quits, layoffs and discharges, 

and other separations rates are computed similarly, 

dividing the number by employment and multiplying 

by 100.

 Annual estimates. Annual estimates of rates and 

levels of hires, quits, layoffs and discharges, other separations, and total separations are released with the 

January news release each year.

 The JOLTS annual level estimates for hires, quits, 

layoffs and discharges, other separations, and total 

separations are the sum of the 12 published monthly 

levels. The annual rate estimates are computed by 

dividing the annual level by the Current Employment 

Statistics (CES) annual average employment level, and 

multiplying that quotient by 100. This figure will be 

approximately equal to the sum of the 12 monthly 

rates. Note that both the JOLTS and CES annual levels 

are rounded to the nearest thousand before the annual 

estimates are calculated. Consistent with BLS practices, annual estimates are published only for not seasonally adjusted data.

 Annual estimates are not calculated for job openings 

because job openings are a stock, or point-in-time, 

measurement for the last business day of each month. 

Only jobs still open on the last day of the month are 

counted. For the same reason job openings cannot be 

cumulated throughout each month, annual figures for 

job openings cannot be created by summing the 

monthly estimates. Hires and separations are flow 

measures and are cumulated over the month with a 

total reported for the month. Therefore, the annual figures can be created by summing the monthly estimates.

Special collection procedures

 An implied measure of employment change can be 

derived from the JOLTS data by subtracting separations from hires for a given month. Aggregating 

these monthly changes historically produced employment levels that overstated employment change as 

measured by CES at the total nonfarm level. Research 

into this problem showed that a significant amount of 

the divergence between the CES employment levels 

and the derived JOLTS employment levels was traceable to the Employment Services industry and to the 

State Government Education industry. In the former 

industry, businesses have a difficult time reporting 

hires and separations of temporary help workers. In 

the latter industry, employers have difficulty reporting 

hires and separations of student workers. BLS now devotes additional resources to the collection, editing, and 

review of data for these industries. BLS analysts more 

closely examine reported data that do not provide a 

consistent picture over time, and re-contact the 

respondents as necessary. Analysts work with the 

respondents to adjust their reporting practices as 

possible. Units that cannot be reconciled but are clearly incorrect on a consistent basis are not used; they are 

replaced by imputed values using standard techniques.

Sample and estimation methodology

 The JOLTS survey design is a stratified random 

sample of 16,400 nonfarm business establishments, 

including factories, offices, and stores, as well as 

federal, state, and local governments in the 50 states 

and the District of Columbia. The establishments are 

drawn from a universe of over 9.1 million 

establishments compiled as part of the operations of the 

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) 

program. This program includes all employers subject 

to state Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws and federal 

agencies subject to Unemployment Compensation for 

Federal Employees (UCFE).

 The sampling frame is stratified by ownership, region, 

industry sector, and establishment size class. The 

JOLTS sample is constructed from individual panels of 

sample units drawn on an annual basis. The full annual 

sample consists of one certainty panel composed of 

only large units selected with virtual certainty based on 

their size and 24 non-certainty panels. Each month a 

new non-certainty panel is rolled into collection, and 

the oldest non-certainty panel is rolled out. This means 

that at any given time the JOLTS sample is constructed 

from panels from three different annual sampling 

frames. The entire sample of old plus new panels is 

post-stratified and re-weighted annually to represent 

the most recent sampling frame. Additionally, the outof-business establishments are removed from the old 

panels. The annual sample is supplemented with a 

quarterly sample of birth establishments (i.e., new 

establishments) to better reflect the impact of younger 

establishments in the JOLTS sample.

 JOLTS total employment estimates are benchmarked

or ratio adjusted monthly to the strike-adjusted 

employment estimates of the Current Employment 

Statistics (CES) survey. A ratio of CES to JOLTS 

employment is used to adjust the levels for all other 

JOLTS data elements. 

JOLTS business birth/death model

 As with any sample survey, the JOLTS sample can 

only be as current as its sampling frame. The time lag 

from the birth of an establishment until its appearance 

on the sampling frame is approximately one year. In 

addition, many of these new units may fail within the 

first year. Since these universe units cannot be reflected on the sampling frame immediately, the JOLTS 
sample cannot capture job openings, hires, and separations from these units during their early existence. 

BLS has developed a model to estimate birth/death 

activity for current months by examining the birth/

death activity from previous years on the QCEW and 

projecting forward using the ratio of over-the-year CES 

employment change. The birth/death model also uses 

historical JOLTS data to estimate the amount of 

“churn” (hires and separations) that exists in 

establishments of various sizes. The model then 

combines the estimated churn with the projected 

employment change to estimate the number of hires 

and separations taking place in these units that cannot 

be measured through sampling. 

 The model-based estimate of total separations is 

distributed to the three components—quits; layoffs and 

discharges; and other separations—in proportion to 

their contribution to the sample-based estimate of total 

separations. Additionally, job openings for the modeled units are estimated by computing the ratio of 

openings to hires in the collected data and applying that 

ratio to the modeled hires. The estimates of job openings, hires, and separations produced by the birth/death 

model are then added to the sample-based estimates 

produced from the survey to arrive at the estimates for 

openings, hires, and separations.

Seasonal adjustment

 BLS seasonally adjusts several JOLTS series using 

the X-12 ARIMA seasonal adjustment program. 

Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and 

removing periodic fluctuations caused by events such 

as weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of 

the school year. Seasonal adjustment makes it easier to 

observe fundamental changes in the level of the series, 

particularly those associated with general economic 

expansions and contractions. A concurrent seasonal 

adjustment methodology is used in which new seasonal 

adjustment factors are calculated each month, using all 

relevant data, up to and including the data for the 

current month.

 JOLTS uses moving averages as seasonal filters in 

seasonal adjustment. JOLTS seasonal adjustment includes both additive and multiplicative seasonal adjustment models and REGARIMA (regression with autocorrelated errors) modeling to improve the seasonal 

adjustment factors at the beginning and end of the 

series and to detect and adjust for outliers in the series.

Alignment procedure

 JOLTS hires minus separations should be comparable 

to the CES net employment change. However, definitional differences as well as sampling and nonsampling errors between the two surveys historically 

caused JOLTS to diverge from CES over time. To limit 

the divergence, and improve the quality of the JOLTS 

hires and separations series, BLS implemented the 

Monthly Alignment Method. The Monthly Alignment 

Method applies the CES employment trends to the 

seasonally adjusted JOLTS implied employment trend 

(hires minus separations) forcing them to be 

approximately the same, while preserving the seasonality of the JOLTS data. First, the two series are 

seasonally adjusted and the difference between the 

JOLTS implied employment trend and the CES net 

employment change is calculated. Next, the JOLTS 

implied employment trend is adjusted to equal the CES 

net employment change through a proportional adjustment. This proportional adjustment procedure adjusts 

the two components (hires, separations) proportionally 

to their contribution to the total churn (hires plus separations). For example, if hires are 40 percent of the 

churn for a given month, they will receive 40 percent 

of the needed adjustment and separations will receive 

60 percent of the needed adjustment. The adjusted hires 

and separations are converted back to not seasonally 

adjusted data by reversing the application of the original seasonal factors. After the Monthly Alignment 

Method has been used to adjust the level estimates, rate 

estimates are computed from the adjusted levels. The 

monthly alignment procedure assures a close match of 

the JOLTS implied employment trend with the CES 

trend. The CES series is considered a highly accurate 

measure of net employment change owing to its very

large sample size and annual benchmarking to universe 

counts of employment from the QCEW program.

Historical changes in JOLTS data

 The JOLTS data series on job openings, hires, and 

separations are relatively new. The full sample is divided into panels, with one panel enrolled each month. 

A full complement of panels for the original data series 

based on the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification 

(SIC) system was not completely enrolled in the survey 

until January 2002. The supplemental panels of establishments needed to create NAICS estimates were not 

completely enrolled until May 2003. The data collected up until those points are from less than a full 

sample. Therefore, estimates from earlier months 

should be used with caution, as fewer sampled units 

were reporting data at that time.

 In March 2002, BLS procedures for collecting hires 

and separations data were revised to address possible 

underreporting. As a result, JOLTS hires and separations estimates for months prior to March 2002 may 

not be comparable to estimates for March 2002 and 

later.

 The federal government reorganization that involved 

transferring approximately 180,000 employees to the 

new Department of Homeland Security is not reflected 
in the JOLTS hires and separations estimates for the 

federal government. The Office of Personnel Management's record shows these transfers were completed in 

March 2003. The inclusion of transfers in the JOLTS 

definitions of hires and separations is intended to cover 

ongoing movements of workers between establishments. The Department of Homeland Security reorganization was a massive one-time event, and the 

inclusion of these intergovernmental transfers would 

distort the federal government time series.

Reliability of the estimates

 JOLTS estimates are subject to both sampling and 

nonsampling error. When a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed, there is a chance that the 

sample estimates may differ from the "true" population 

values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample 

selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. BLS analysis is generally 

conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence. That 

means that there is a 90-percent chance, or level of 

confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will 

differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the 

"true" population value because of sampling error. 

Estimates of sampling errors are available upon request.

 The JOLTS estimates also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many 

reasons, including the failure to include a segment of 

the population, the inability to obtain data from all 

units in the sample, the inability or unwillingness of 

respondents to provide data on a timely basis, mistakes 

made by respondents, errors made in the collection or 

processing of the data, and errors from the employment 

benchmark data used in estimation.

Other information

 Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice 

phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 

877-8339.
Table 1. Job openings levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

Jan. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Jan. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012p

Total ........................................................................................................... 2,860 3,152 3,501 3,408 3,274 3,540 3,459 2.1 2.3 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.5

INDUSTRY

Total private 4............................................................................................ 2,536 2,818 3,100 3,062 2,925 3,188 3,107 2.3 2.5 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.8 2.7

Construction........................................................................ 67 103 78 80 83 78 82 1.2 1.8 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.5

Manufacturing................................................................ 212 238 249 240 240 252 285 1.8 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities 5.............................. 502 491 599 594 581 574 554 2.0 1.9 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.1

Retail trade................................................................................. 282 321 359 334 316 323 317 1.9 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1

Professional and business services......................... 478 622 692 644 561 785 729 2.7 3.5 3.8 3.6 3.1 4.3 4.0

Education and health services 6........................................... 506 606 600 622 616 605 611 2.5 3.0 2.9 3.0 3.0 2.9 2.9

 Health care and social assistance... 443 542 530 558 552 552 554 2.6 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2

Leisure and hospitality ...................................................... 294 362 392 404 434 441 437 2.2 2.6 2.9 2.9 3.1 3.2 3.1

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 37 41 56 62 58 44 79 1.9 2.1 2.8 3.1 2.9 2.3 3.9

Accommodation and food services......................... 257 321 336 342 376 397 358 2.2 2.7 2.9 2.9 3.2 3.3 3.0

Government 7......................................................................................... 325 334 400 345 349 352 352 1.4 1.5 1.8 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.6

State and local government.................................................................................... 258 287 345 279 299 301 302 1.3 1.5 1.8 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.6

REGION 8

Northeast ......................................................................... 579 552 606 573 557 595 591 2.3 2.2 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.3

South ............................................................................................... 1,045 1,135 1,335 1,310 1,306 1,443 1,434 2.2 2.3 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.9 2.9

Midwest ......................................................................................... 612 714 736 715 730 763 745 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.4

West ...................................................................................... 625 750 824 811 682 740 689 2.1 2.5 2.8 2.7 2.3 2.5 2.3

1

 Job openings are the number of job openings on the last business day of the 

8

 The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the 

month. regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New

 2 The job openings rate is the number of job openings on the last business day Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and 

of the month as a percent of total employment plus job openings. Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, 

 

3

 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North 

adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown. Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and 

 

4

 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, 

other services, not shown separately. Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and 

 

5

 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, 

shown separately. Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and 

 

6

 Includes educational services, not shown separately. Wyoming.

 

7

 Includes federal government, not shown separately. 

p

 = Preliminary

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the

Current Employment Statistics employment estimates, the JOLTS

seasonal adjustment factors, and a revised birth/death model.

Table 2. Hires levels 1 and rates 2 by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

Jan. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Jan. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012p

Total ........................................................................................................... 3,934 4,221 4,276 4,220 4,268 4,188 4,158 3.0 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.1

INDUSTRY

Total private 4............................................................................................ 3,671 3,932 4,002 3,979 3,986 3,889 3,835 3.4 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.5 3.5

Construction........................................................................ 288 325 360 333 312 315 307 5.3 5.9 6.5 6.0 5.7 5.7 5.5

Manufacturing................................................................ 259 257 240 240 237 269 246 2.2 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.3 2.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities 5.............................. 834 823 810 840 849 812 822 3.4 3.3 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.3

Retail trade................................................................................. 568 544 567 559 573 517 552 3.9 3.7 3.9 3.8 3.9 3.5 3.7

Professional and business services......................... 827 890 911 893 858 818 779 4.8 5.1 5.2 5.1 4.9 4.6 4.4

Education and health services 6........................................... 439 489 486 484 483 494 499 2.2 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.5

 Health care and social assistance... 358 414 391 414 407 414 419 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.5

Leisure and hospitality ...................................................... 621 711 736 719 779 743 768 4.7 5.3 5.5 5.4 5.8 5.5 5.7

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 95 115 135 131 157 141 146 5.0 6.0 7.1 6.9 8.2 7.4 7.6

Accommodation and food services......................... 527 596 600 588 622 602 622 4.7 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.4 5.2 5.4

Government 7......................................................................................... 263 290 275 241 281 299 323 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.5

State and local government.................................................................................... 231 263 248 215 252 270 303 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.6

REGION 8

Northeast ......................................................................... 647 685 664 684 691 676 680 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7

South ............................................................................................... 1,461 1,617 1,626 1,656 1,626 1,634 1,613 3.1 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.4

Midwest ......................................................................................... 924 978 996 960 1,004 986 960 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.2

West ...................................................................................... 902 942 990 919 947 891 904 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.1 3.1

 1 Hires are the number of hires during the entire month. 6

 Includes educational services, not shown separately.

 2 The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of 7

 Includes federal government, not shown separately.

total employment. 8

 See footnote 8, table 1. 

3

 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal p = Preliminary

adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown. NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the

4

 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and Current Employment Statistics employment estimates, the JOLTS

other services, not shown separately. seasonal adjustment factors, and a revised birth/death model.

5

 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, 

Industry and region

Industry and region

Levels Rates 3 (in thousands)

Levels 3 (in thousands) Rates
Table 3. Total separations levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

Jan. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Jan. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012p

Total ........................................................................................................... 3,816 4,112 4,089 4,065 4,057 4,023 3,944 2.9 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.0

INDUSTRY

Total private 4............................................................................................ 3,560 3,835 3,808 3,781 3,750 3,695 3,619 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.3

Construction........................................................................ 309 338 324 325 300 303 290 5.7 6.1 5.9 5.9 5.4 5.5 5.2

Manufacturing................................................................ 223 247 236 227 236 239 213 1.9 2.1 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.0 1.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities 5.............................. 784 805 811 813 770 773 810 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.2

Retail trade................................................................................. 533 544 567 539 520 509 566 3.7 3.7 3.9 3.7 3.5 3.5 3.8

Professional and business services......................... 772 845 857 831 807 792 705 4.5 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.0

Education and health services 6........................................... 423 460 409 450 462 468 481 2.1 2.3 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.4

 Health care and social assistance... 355 382 342 386 396 402 398 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.4

Leisure and hospitality ...................................................... 624 716 716 663 715 695 708 4.7 5.4 5.4 5.0 5.3 5.2 5.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 104 116 140 114 142 133 125 5.5 6.1 7.3 6.0 7.4 7.0 6.5

Accommodation and food services......................... 520 600 576 549 573 562 582 4.6 5.2 5.0 4.8 5.0 4.9 5.0

Government 7......................................................................................... 256 276 281 285 307 328 325 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.5

State and local government.................................................................................... 227 245 250 253 268 292 299 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6

REGION 8

Northeast......................................................................... 595 677 660 702 667 631 667 2.4 2.7 2.6 2.8 2.7 2.5 2.6

South............................................................................................... 1,524 1,578 1,607 1,537 1,609 1,592 1,529 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.4 3.3 3.2

Midwest......................................................................................... 917 951 897 949 881 905 871 3.1 3.2 3.0 3.2 2.9 3.0 2.9

West...................................................................................... 780 906 925 877 899 895 877 2.7 3.1 3.2 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.0

 1 Total separations are the number of total separations during the entire 6

 Includes educational services, not shown separately.

month. 7

 Includes federal government, not shown separately.

 2 The total separations rate is the number of total separations during the 8

 See footnote 8, table 1. 

entire month as a percent of total employment. p

 = Preliminary

3

 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the

seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown. Current Employment Statistics employment estimates, the JOLTS

4

 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, seasonal adjustment factors, and a revised birth/death model.

and other services, not shown separately.

5

 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, 

not shown separately.

Table 4. Quits levels 1 and rates 2 by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

Jan. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Jan. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012p

Total ........................................................................................................... 1,803 2,048 2,015 1,983 1,976 2,008 1,972 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

INDUSTRY

Total private 4............................................................................................ 1,693 1,932 1,902 1,869 1,860 1,867 1,843 1.6 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7

Construction........................................................................ 65 69 80 80 91 76 71 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.4 1.3

Manufacturing................................................................ 96 99 99 105 121 113 95 .8 .8 .8 .9 1.0 1.0 .8

Trade, transportation, and utilities 5.............................. 377 439 456 461 413 447 437 1.5 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.8 1.7

Retail trade................................................................................. 275 327 336 330 294 331 325 1.9 2.2 2.3 2.2 2.0 2.2 2.2

Professional and business services......................... 355 387 395 368 380 363 339 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.1 1.9

Education and health services 6................................................. 231 270 244 242 247 265 274 1.2 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.4

 Health care and social assistance... 201 223 215 215 225 233 245 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.5

Leisure and hospitality ...................................................... 370 439 403 374 370 388 396 2.8 3.3 3.0 2.8 2.8 2.9 2.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 36 45 45 41 36 48 40 1.9 2.4 2.4 2.1 1.9 2.5 2.1

Accommodation and food services......................... 334 394 358 334 335 340 356 3.0 3.4 3.1 2.9 2.9 2.9 3.1

Government 7......................................................................................... 110 116 114 114 116 141 130 .5 .5 .5 .5 .5 .6 .6

State and local government.................................................................................... 102 106 104 102 106 131 121 .5 .6 .5 .5 .6 .7 .6

REGION 8

Northeast......................................................................... 253 283 281 288 275 279 333 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.3

South............................................................................................... 699 831 877 782 830 816 783 1.5 1.7 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.6

Midwest......................................................................................... 441 495 425 477 443 469 442 1.5 1.7 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.5

West...................................................................................... 410 439 433 436 428 445 415 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4

 1 Quits are the number of quits during the entire month. 6

 Includes educational services, not shown separately.

 2 The quits rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a 7

 Includes federal government, not shown separately.

percent of total employment. 8

 See footnote 8, table 1. 

3

 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent p = Preliminary

seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown. NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the

4

 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, Current Employment Statistics employment estimates, the JOLTS

and other services, not shown separately. seasonal adjustment factors, and a revised birth/death model.

5

 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, 

not shown separately.

Industry and region

Industry and region

Levels 3 (in thousands) Rates

Levels 3 (in thousands) Rates
Table 5. Job openings levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2012p

Total........................................................................................................... 3,020 3,118 3,638 2.3 2.3 2.7

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 2,719 2,779 3,310 2.5 2.5 3.0

Mining and logging...................................................40 28 23 5.3 3.3 2.7

Construction...................................................................................................... 61 52 74 1.2 .9 1.4

Manufacturing..................................................................................... 218 218 294 1.9 1.8 2.4

Durable goods.............................................................................. 143 149 223 2.0 2.0 2.9

Nondurable goods....................................................................... 75 69 71 1.7 1.5 1.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................... 501 443 554 2.0 1.7 2.2

Wholesale trade........................................................................... 128 94 147 2.3 1.7 2.6

Retail trade................................................................................. 265 235 299 1.8 1.5 2.0

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 108 114 108 2.2 2.2 2.2

Information...................................................................................... 104 103 93 3.8 3.7 3.4

Financial activities........................................................................... 264 176 255 3.3 2.2 3.2

Finance and insurance..................................................................................... 230 156 199 3.8 2.6 3.4

Real estate and rental and leasing................................... 34 20 56 1.8 1.0 2.8

Professional and business services........................................ 551 748 839 3.2 4.1 4.6

Education and health services................................................................. 554 573 671 2.8 2.8 3.2

Educational services................................................................ 65 45 56 2.0 1.3 1.7

Health care and social assistance.................................. 490 528 614 2.9 3.0 3.5

Leisure and hospitality.................................................................. 266 332 387 2.1 2.5 2.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 31 26 65 1.8 1.5 3.7

Accommodation and food services............................... 235 306 322 2.1 2.6 2.8

Other services................................................................................. 159 107 121 2.9 2.0 2.2

Government......................................................................................... 301 338 328 1.3 1.5 1.5

Federal................................................................................................ 58 50 46 2.0 1.7 1.6

State and local.................................................................................... 242 289 282 1.2 1.5 1.5

REGION 3

Northeast......................................................................................... 621 506 631 2.5 2.0 2.5

South............................................................................................... 1,122 1,329 1,535 2.4 2.7 3.1

Midwest................................................................................................. 607 648 738 2.0 2.1 2.4

West....................................................................................................... 671 633 734 2.3 2.1 2.5

 1 Job openings are the number of job openings on the last business day of the month.

 2 The job openings rate is the number of job openings on the last business day of the month as a percent of total employment 

plus job openings.

 3 See footnote 8, table 1.

 p = Preliminary

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment 

estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates
Table 6. Hires levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2012p

Total........................................................................................................... 3,801 3,038 3,993 3.0 2.3 3.1

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 3,542 2,856 3,668 3.3 2.6 3.4

Mining and logging...................................................24 20 41 3.3 2.4 5.0

Construction...................................................................................................... 239 199 252 4.7 3.7 4.9

Manufacturing..................................................................................... 284 171 271 2.5 1.4 2.3

Durable goods.............................................................................. 178 108 167 2.5 1.5 2.3

Nondurable goods....................................................................... 106 64 105 2.4 1.4 2.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................... 711 635 704 2.9 2.5 2.8

Wholesale trade........................................................................... 143 101 139 2.6 1.8 2.5

Retail trade................................................................................. 442 385 431 3.1 2.5 2.9

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 125 149 134 2.6 3.0 2.8

Information...................................................................................... 62 52 55 2.4 2.0 2.1

Financial activities........................................................................... 161 124 171 2.1 1.6 2.2

Finance and insurance..................................................................................... 105 86 115 1.8 1.5 2.0

Real estate and rental and leasing................................... 57 38 56 3.0 2.0 3.0

Professional and business services........................................ 914 663 857 5.5 3.7 4.9

Education and health services................................................................. 453 347 514 2.3 1.7 2.6

Educational services................................................................ 82 41 82 2.6 1.2 2.6

Health care and social assistance.................................. 371 307 431 2.3 1.8 2.6

Leisure and hospitality.................................................................. 510 515 627 4.1 3.9 4.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 74 96 113 4.5 5.5 6.7

Accommodation and food services............................... 435 419 513 4.0 3.7 4.6

Other services................................................................................. 184 131 176 3.5 2.5 3.3

Government......................................................................................... 259 181 324 1.2 .8 1.5

Federal................................................................................................ 31 23 19 1.1 .8 .7

State and local.................................................................................... 228 158 305 1.2 .8 1.6

REGION 3

Northeast......................................................................................... 609 492 636 2.5 1.9 2.6

South............................................................................................... 1,475 1,204 1,617 3.2 2.5 3.4

Midwest................................................................................................. 857 683 880 2.9 2.3 3.0

West....................................................................................................... 861 659 860 3.1 2.3 3.0

 1 Hires are the number of hires during the entire month.

 2 The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment.

 3 See footnote 8, table 1.

 p = Preliminary

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment 

estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates
Table 7. Total separations levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2012p

Total........................................................................................................... 4,407 3,903 4,475 3.4 2.9 3.4

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 4,164 3,618 4,174 3.9 3.3 3.8

Mining and logging...................................................18 26 30 2.4 3.1 3.7

Construction...................................................................................................... 398 341 366 7.9 6.3 7.1

Manufacturing..................................................................................... 253 210 240 2.2 1.8 2.0

Durable goods.............................................................................. 133 115 130 1.9 1.6 1.8

Nondurable goods....................................................................... 120 94 110 2.7 2.1 2.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................... 1,077 847 1,081 4.4 3.3 4.3

Wholesale trade........................................................................... 150 121 140 2.8 2.2 2.5

Retail trade................................................................................. 764 521 786 5.3 3.4 5.4

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 163 205 156 3.4 4.1 3.2

Information...................................................................................... 84 61 82 3.2 2.3 3.2

Financial activities........................................................................... 213 136 227 2.8 1.8 3.0

Finance and insurance..................................................................................... 113 99 140 2.0 1.7 2.4

Real estate and rental and leasing................................... 100 37 87 5.3 1.9 4.6

Professional and business services........................................ 853 844 767 5.1 4.8 4.4

Education and health services................................................................. 438 416 484 2.2 2.1 2.4

Educational services................................................................ 62 49 71 2.0 1.5 2.2

Health care and social assistance.................................. 376 367 413 2.3 2.2 2.5

Leisure and hospitality.................................................................. 627 591 717 5.0 4.5 5.6

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 86 104 104 5.2 5.9 6.1

Accommodation and food services............................... 541 488 613 5.0 4.3 5.5

Other services................................................................................. 203 146 179 3.9 2.7 3.4

Government......................................................................................... 243 285 301 1.1 1.3 1.4

Federal................................................................................................ 36 36 30 1.3 1.3 1.1

State and local.................................................................................... 207 249 271 1.1 1.3 1.4

REGION 3

Northeast......................................................................................... 698 634 763 2.9 2.5 3.1

South............................................................................................... 1,773 1,492 1,744 3.8 3.1 3.7

Midwest................................................................................................. 1,060 929 978 3.6 3.1 3.3

West....................................................................................................... 875 847 990 3.1 2.9 3.5

 1 Total separations are the number of total separations during the entire month.

 2 The total separations rate is the number of total separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment.

 3 See footnote 8, table 1.

 p = Preliminary

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment 

estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates
Table 8. Quits levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2012p

Total........................................................................................................... 1,796 1,642 1,964 1.4 1.2 1.5

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 1,693 1,532 1,843 1.6 1.4 1.7

Mining and logging...................................................6 12 19 .9 1.5 2.3

Construction...................................................................................................... 55 56 60 1.1 1.0 1.2

Manufacturing..................................................................................... 90 78 89 .8 .7 .8

Durable goods.............................................................................. 45 41 46 .6 .6 .6

Nondurable goods....................................................................... 45 37 42 1.0 .8 1.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................... 399 393 461 1.6 1.5 1.8

Wholesale trade........................................................................... 58 40 52 1.1 .7 .9

Retail trade................................................................................. 293 297 345 2.0 2.0 2.4

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 48 56 64 1.0 1.1 1.3

Information...................................................................................... 32 26 45 1.2 1.0 1.7

Financial activities........................................................................... 79 74 91 1.0 1.0 1.2

Finance and insurance..................................................................................... 48 55 56 .8 .9 1.0

Real estate and rental and leasing................................... 32 19 35 1.7 1.0 1.9

Professional and business services........................................ 348 293 328 2.1 1.7 1.9

Education and health services................................................................. 232 225 276 1.2 1.1 1.4

Educational services................................................................ 29 23 27 .9 .7 .8

Health care and social assistance.................................. 203 202 249 1.2 1.2 1.5

Leisure and hospitality.................................................................. 354 314 378 2.8 2.4 2.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 24 34 27 1.5 1.9 1.6

Accommodation and food services............................... 329 280 351 3.0 2.5 3.2

Other services................................................................................. 97 62 96 1.9 1.2 1.8

Government......................................................................................... 103 110 120 .5 .5 .6

Federal................................................................................................ 11 9 11 .4 .3 .4

State and local.................................................................................... 92 101 109 .5 .5 .6

REGION 3

Northeast......................................................................................... 245 217 323 1.0 .9 1.3

South............................................................................................... 730 664 817 1.6 1.4 1.7

Midwest................................................................................................. 423 400 421 1.4 1.3 1.4

West....................................................................................................... 399 362 402 1.4 1.2 1.4

 1 Quits are the number of quits during the entire month.

 2 The quits rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a percent of total employment.

 3 See footnote 8, table 1.

 p = Preliminary

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment 

estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates
Table 9. Layoffs and discharges levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2012p

Total........................................................................................................... 2,155 1,937 2,077 1.7 1.5 1.6

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 2,080 1,837 1,962 2.0 1.7 1.8

Mining and logging...................................................10 12 9 1.3 1.5 1.1

Construction...................................................................................................... 332 265 281 6.6 4.9 5.4

Manufacturing..................................................................................... 138 112 119 1.2 .9 1.0

Durable goods.............................................................................. 72 63 63 1.0 .9 .9

Nondurable goods....................................................................... 67 49 55 1.5 1.1 1.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................... 565 397 516 2.3 1.5 2.1

Wholesale trade........................................................................... 53 71 70 1.0 1.3 1.3

Retail trade................................................................................. 413 196 366 2.9 1.3 2.5

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 99 130 79 2.1 2.6 1.6

Information...................................................................................... 34 30 35 1.3 1.1 1.3

Financial activities........................................................................... 112 38 72 1.5 .5 .9

Finance and insurance..................................................................................... 49 22 25 .9 .4 .4

Real estate and rental and leasing................................... 63 16 48 3.4 .8 2.5

Professional and business services........................................ 424 507 370 2.5 2.9 2.1

Education and health services................................................................. 136 139 168 .7 .7 .8

Educational services................................................................ 22 23 38 .7 .7 1.2

Health care and social assistance.................................. 114 117 129 .7 .7 .8

Leisure and hospitality.................................................................. 245 257 323 2.0 2.0 2.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 58 68 76 3.5 3.9 4.5

Accommodation and food services............................... 188 190 247 1.7 1.7 2.2

Other services................................................................................. 83 79 70 1.6 1.5 1.3

Government......................................................................................... 75 100 116 .3 .4 .5

Federal................................................................................................ 10 10 8 .4 .4 .3

State and local.................................................................................... 65 90 107 .3 .5 .6

REGION 3

Northeast......................................................................................... 370 363 353 1.5 1.4 1.4

South............................................................................................... 900 708 756 1.9 1.5 1.6

Midwest................................................................................................. 494 454 442 1.7 1.5 1.5

West....................................................................................................... 391 412 526 1.4 1.4 1.8

 1 Layoffs and discharges are the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month.

 2 The layoffs and discharges rate is the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month as a percent of total 

employment.

 3 See footnote 8, table 1.

 p = Preliminary

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment 

estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates
Table 10. Other separations levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Dec. Jan.

2011 2011 2012p 2011 2011 2012p

Total........................................................................................................... 456 323 434 0.4 0.2 0.3

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 391 248 368 .4 .2 .3

Mining and logging...................................................2 1 3 .2 .2 .3

Construction...................................................................................................... 11 20 26 .2 .4 .5

Manufacturing..................................................................................... 24 20 33 .2 .2 .3

Durable goods.............................................................................. 16 11 21 .2 .2 .3

Nondurable goods....................................................................... 8 8 12 .2 .2 .3

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................... 113 57 104 .5 .2 .4

Wholesale trade........................................................................... 39 11 17 .7 .2 .3

Retail trade................................................................................. 58 27 74 .4 .2 .5

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 16 19 13 .3 .4 .3

Information...................................................................................... 18 5 3 .7 .2 .1

Financial activities........................................................................... 22 25 64 .3 .3 .8

Finance and insurance..................................................................................... 16 23 59 .3 .4 1.0

Real estate and rental and leasing................................... 6 2 4 .3 .1 .2

Professional and business services........................................ 81 44 69 .5 .2 .4

Education and health services................................................................. 70 52 40 .4 .3 .2

Educational services................................................................ 11 4 5 .3 .1 .2

Health care and social assistance.................................. 59 48 35 .4 .3 .2

Leisure and hospitality.................................................................. 28 20 16 .2 .2 .1

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 4 2 1 .3 .1 .1

Accommodation and food services............................... 24 18 15 .2 .2 .1

Other services................................................................................. 22 5 12 .4 .1 .2

Government......................................................................................... 65 75 65 .3 .3 .3

Federal................................................................................................ 15 17 11 .5 .6 .4

State and local.................................................................................... 50 58 54 .3 .3 .3

REGION 3

Northeast......................................................................................... 84 54 86 .3 .2 .3

South............................................................................................... 143 121 173 .3 .3 .4

Midwest................................................................................................. 144 76 114 .5 .3 .4

West....................................................................................................... 85 73 61 .3 .2 .2

 1 Other separations are the number of other separations during the entire month.

 2 The other separations rate is the number of other separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment.

 3 See footnote 8, table 1.

 p = Preliminary

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment 

estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates
Table 11. Annual hires levels 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Total........................................................................................................... 62,421 55,166 46,398 48,647 50,083

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 58,035 51,606 43,052 44,826 46,869

Mining and logging................................................... 333 357 185 286 328

Construction........................................................................ 4,770 4,479 3,679 3,996 4,096

Manufacturing................................................................ 4,516 3,592 2,755 3,134 3,082

Durable goods............................................................. 2,636 2,064 1,409 1,797 1,792

Nondurable goods...................................................... 1,881 1,526 1,344 1,337 1,289

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 13,089 11,413 9,440 9,681 9,942

Wholesale trade............................................................... 2,132 1,765 1,453 1,411 1,504

Retail trade....................................................................... 9,107 7,882 6,333 6,697 6,752

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 1,851 1,768 1,659 1,576 1,686

Information....................................................................... 940 753 667 651 708

Financial activities........................................................ 3,000 2,502 1,995 2,046 1,861

Finance and insurance............................................. 1,959 1,604 1,192 1,359 1,178

Real estate and rental and leasing....................... 1,044 897 801 687 685

Professional and business services......................... 11,359 9,966 8,256 9,330 10,391

Education and health services................................................. 6,311 6,352 5,952 5,770 5,730

Educational services............................................... 889 910 862 887 924

Health care and social assistance........................5,422 5,441 5,091 4,882 4,807

Leisure and hospitality...................................................... 11,083 9,820 7,779 7,822 8,453

Arts, entertainment, and recreation...................... 1,624 1,449 1,198 1,317 1,455

Accommodation and food services................. 9,457 8,369 6,580 6,507 6,995

Other services....................................................................... 2,637 2,372 2,338 2,102 2,279

Government......................................................................................... 4,385 3,558 3,346 3,821 3,213

Federal................................................................................. 816 321 460 1,048 330

State and local.......................................................................... 3,571 3,238 2,886 2,772 2,883

REGION 2

Northeast................................................................................. 9,716 8,862 8,291 8,686 8,394

South................................................................................. 24,297 20,829 17,492 18,230 18,979

Midwest................................................................................. 13,664 12,025 10,059 11,136 11,634

West................................................................................. 14,747 13,453 10,557 10,595 11,075

 1 The annual hires level is the total number of hires during the entire year.

 2 See footnote 8, table 1.

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics 

employment estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Table 12. Annual hires rates 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Total........................................................................................................... 45.4 40.3 35.5 37.5 38.1

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 50.3 45.2 39.8 41.7 42.9

Mining and logging................................................... 46.0 46.6 26.7 40.6 41.8

Construction........................................................................ 62.5 62.5 61.2 72.4 74.4

Manufacturing................................................................ 32.5 26.8 23.3 27.2 26.3

Durable goods............................................................. 29.9 24.4 19.3 25.4 24.6

Nondurable goods...................................................... 37.1 30.9 29.4 30.0 28.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 49.2 43.4 37.9 39.3 39.7

Wholesale trade............................................................... 35.4 29.7 26.0 25.9 27.2

Retail trade....................................................................... 58.7 51.6 43.6 46.4 46.1

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 36.3 34.9 34.6 33.2 34.8

Information....................................................................... 31.0 25.2 23.8 24.0 26.6

Financial activities........................................................ 36.1 30.7 25.7 26.7 24.2

Finance and insurance............................................. 31.9 26.7 20.6 23.8 20.5

Real estate and rental and leasing....................... 481 42.1 40.2 35.5 35.5

Professional and business services......................... 63.3 56.2 49.8 55.8 60.0

Education and health services................................................. 34.4 33.7 31.0 29.5 28.8

Educational services............................................... 30.2 29.9 27.9 28.1 28.5

Health care and social assistance........................35.3 34.4 31.6 29.8 28.9

Leisure and hospitality...................................................... 82.5 73.1 59.5 59.9 63.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation...................... 82.5 73.6 62.5 68.8 76.2

Accommodation and food services................. 82.5 73.0 59.0 58.4 61.3

Other services....................................................................... 48.0 43.0 43.6 39.4 42.7

Government......................................................................................... 19.7 15.8 14.8 17.0 14.5

Federal................................................................................. 29.8 11.6 16.2 35.2 11.5

State and local.......................................................................... 18.3 16.4 14.6 14.2 15.0

REGION 2

Northeast................................................................................. 37.8 34.4 33.3 35.1 33.5

South................................................................................. 48.9 42.1 36.9 38.7 39.8

Midwest................................................................................. 43.6 38.6 33.9 37.8 39.0

West................................................................................. 47.7 44.2 36.6 37.2 38.4

 1 The annual hires rate is the number of hires during the entire year as a percent of annual average employment.

 2 See footnote 8, table 1.

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics 

employment estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Table 13. Annual total separations levels 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Total..................................................................................................... 61,162 58,601 51,527 47,641 48,242

INDUSTRY

Total private.............................................................................. 57,090 55,216 48,095 43,518 44,774

Mining and logging................................................... 301 324 295 219 241

Construction........................................................................ 4,939 5,228 4,764 4,195 3,962

Manufacturing................................................................ 4,799 4,452 4,172 3,036 2,831

Durable goods............................................................. 2,841 2,688 2,519 1,679 1,541

Nondurable goods...................................................... 1,958 1,765 1,654 1,356 1,290

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 12,758 12,499 10,526 9,401 9,531

Wholesale trade............................................................... 2,045 2,000 1,777 1,406 1,416

Retail trade....................................................................... 8,916 8,599 6,872 6,475 6,517

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 1,797 1,900 1,878 1,521 1,601

Information....................................................................... 946 867 840 709 752

Financial activities........................................................ 3,125 2,716 2,325 2,047 1,852

Finance and insurance............................................. 2,062 1,753 1,397 1,328 1,168

Real estate and rental and leasing....................... 1,060 962 925 718 686

Professional and business services......................... 11,088 10,787 9,011 8,801 9,807

Education and health services................................................. 5,781 5,881 5,641 5,459 5,319

Educational services............................................... 823 814 830 808 828

Health care and social assistance........................4,958 5,070 4,811 4,647 4,489

Leisure and hospitality............................................................... 10,783 10,038 8,087 7,576 8,204

Arts, entertainment, and recreation...................... 1,565 1,477 1,267 1,271 1,491

Accommodation and food services................. 9,217 8,564 6,822 6,304 6,714

Other services......................................................................... 2,568 2,418 2,434 2,075 2,271

Government.................................................................................... 4,071 3,382 3,433 4,124 3,470

Federal................................................................................. 795 302 409 995 374

State and local......................................................................... 3,278 3,082 3,023 3,129 3,094

REGION 2

Northeast................................................................................. 9,309 9,505 8,922 8,601 8,137

South................................................................................. 23,694 22,023 19,055 17,666 18,424

Midwest................................................................................. 13,252 12,561 11,161 10,782 11,115

West................................................................................. 14,904 14,508 12,390 10,598 10,565

 1 The annual total separations level is the total number of total separations during the entire year.

 2 See footnote 8, table 1.

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics 

employment estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Table 14. Annual total separations rates 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Total..................................................................................................... 44.4 42.8 39.4 36.7 36.7

INDUSTRY

Total private.............................................................................. 49.5 48.3 44.4 40.5 41.0

Mining and logging................................................... 41.6 42.3 42.5 31.1 30.7

Construction........................................................................ 64.7 73.0 79.2 76.0 72.0

Manufacturing................................................................ 34.6 33.2 35.2 26.3 24.1

Durable goods............................................................. 32.2 31.7 34.6 23.8 21.2

Nondurable goods...................................................... 38.6 35.7 36.2 30.4 28.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 47.9 47.5 42.3 38.2 38.1

Wholesale trade............................................................... 34.0 33.7 31.8 25.8 25.6

Retail trade....................................................................... 57.4 56.3 47.3 44.8 44.5

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 35.3 37.5 39.2 32.1 33.0

Information....................................................................... 31.2 29.1 30.0 26.2 28.2

Financial activities........................................................ 37.6 33.3 29.9 26.8 24.1

Finance and insurance............................................. 33.6 29.1 24.2 23.2 20.3

Real estate and rental and leasing....................... 489 45.2 46.4 37.1 35.6

Professional and business services......................... 61.8 60.8 54.4 52.6 56.6

Education and health services................................................. 31.6 31.2 29.4 28.0 26.8

Educational services............................................... 28.0 26.8 26.9 25.6 25.5

Health care and social assistance........................32.2 32.1 29.9 28.4 27.0

Leisure and hospitality............................................................... 80.3 74.7 61.8 58.1 61.6

Arts, entertainment, and recreation...................... 79.5 75.0 66.1 66.4 78.1

Accommodation and food services................. 80.4 74.7 61.1 56.6 58.8

Other services......................................................................... 46.7 43.8 45.4 38.9 42.5

Government.................................................................................... 18.3 15.0 15.2 18.3 15.7

Federal................................................................................. 29.1 10.9 14.4 33.4 13.1

State and local......................................................................... 16.8 15.6 15.3 16.0 16.1

REGION 2

Northeast................................................................................. 36.3 36.9 35.8 34.7 32.5

South................................................................................. 47.7 44.5 40.2 37.5 38.6

Midwest................................................................................. 42.3 40.4 37.6 36.6 37.2

West................................................................................. 48.3 47.7 43.0 37.2 36.7

 1 The annual total separations rate is the number of total separations during the entire year as a percent of annual 

average employment.

 2 See footnote 8, table 1.

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics 

employment estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Table 15. Annual quits levels 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Total..................................................................................................... 34,612 30,558 21,021 21,967 23,578

INDUSTRY

Total private.............................................................................. 32,686 28,952 19,817 20,652 22,191

Mining and logging................................................... 177 177 88 94 140

Construction........................................................................ 1,874 1,589 889 902 945

Manufacturing................................................................ 2,474 1,873 1,032 1,139 1,254

Durable goods............................................................. 1,399 1,033 501 570 640

Nondurable goods...................................................... 1,072 837 534 569 615

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 7,612 6,843 4,657 4,866 5,247

Wholesale trade............................................................... 1,162 983 541 541 634

Retail trade....................................................................... 5,544 4,935 3,428 3,668 3,880

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 909 926 690 655 734

Information....................................................................... 552 433 390 353 405

Financial activities........................................................ 1,801 1,423 862 985 995

Finance and insurance............................................. 1,307 956 559 650 667

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................496 464 300 335 328

Professional and business services......................... 5,734 5,185 3,373 3,866 4,485

Education and health services................................................. 3,639 3,457 2,946 2,942 2,965

Educational services............................................... 404 384 318 361 384

Health care and social assistance........................3,235 3,072 2,627 2,580 2,582

Leisure and hospitality............................................................... 7,391 6,610 4,512 4,483 4,729

Arts, entertainment, and recreation......................643 536 398 448 509

Accommodation and food services................. 6,749 6,073 4,112 4,034 4,220

Other services......................................................................... 1,432 1,366 1,071 1,024 1,026

Government.................................................................................... 1,927 1,606 1,205 1,314 1,389

Federal................................................................................. 277 98 81 147 113

State and local......................................................................... 1,648 1,506 1,125 1,166 1,276

REGION 2

Northeast................................................................................. 4,543 4,421 3,136 3,466 3,367

South................................................................................. 14,431 12,427 8,489 8,889 9,511

Midwest................................................................................. 7,280 6,587 4,502 4,893 5,534

West................................................................................. 8,355 7,121 4,896 4,719 5,169

 1 The annual quits level is the total number of quits during the entire year.

 2 See footnote 8, table 1.

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics 

employment estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Table 16. Annual quits rates 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Total..................................................................................................... 25.2 22.3 16.1 16.9 17.9

INDUSTRY

Total private.............................................................................. 28.3 25.3 18.3 19.2 20.3

Mining and logging................................................... 24.4 23.1 12.7 13.3 17.9

Construction........................................................................ 24.6 22.2 14.8 16.3 17.2

Manufacturing................................................................ 17.8 14.0 8.7 9.9 10.7

Durable goods............................................................. 15.9 12.2 6.9 8.1 8.8

Nondurable goods...................................................... 21.1 16.9 11.7 12.7 13.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 28.6 26.0 18.7 19.8 21.0

Wholesale trade............................................................... 19.3 16.5 9.7 9.9 11.5

Retail trade....................................................................... 35.7 32.3 23.6 25.4 26.5

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 17.8 18.3 14.4 13.8 15.1

Information....................................................................... 18.2 14.5 13.9 13.0 15.2

Financial activities........................................................ 21.7 17.5 11.1 12.9 13.0

Finance and insurance............................................. 21.3 15.9 9.7 11.4 11.6

Real estate and rental and leasing....................... 229 21.8 15.0 17.3 17.0

Professional and business services......................... 32.0 29.2 20.3 23.1 25.9

Education and health services................................................. 19.9 18.4 15.3 15.1 14.9

Educational services............................................... 13.7 12.6 10.3 11.4 11.8

Health care and social assistance........................21.0 19.4 16.3 15.8 15.5

Leisure and hospitality............................................................... 55.0 49.2 34.5 34.4 35.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation...................... 32.7 27.2 20.8 23.4 26.6

Accommodation and food services................. 58.9 53.0 36.8 36.2 37.0

Other services......................................................................... 26.1 24.8 20.0 19.2 19.2

Government.................................................................................... 8.7 7.1 5.3 5.8 6.3

Federal................................................................................. 10.1 3.5 2.9 4.9 4.0

State and local......................................................................... 8.5 7.6 5.7 6.0 6.6

REGION 2

Northeast................................................................................. 17.7 17.2 12.6 14.0 13.5

South................................................................................. 29.0 25.1 17.9 18.9 19.9

Midwest................................................................................. 23.2 21.2 15.2 16.6 18.5

West................................................................................. 27.0 23.4 17.0 16.6 17.9

 1 The annual quits rate is the number of quits during the entire year as a percent of annual average employment.

 2 See footnote 8, table 1.

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics 

employment estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Table 17. Annual layoff and discharges levels 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Total........................................................................................................... 22,142 24,166 26,783 21,784 20,718

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 20,834 23,015 25,172 19,729 19,394

Mining and logging...................................................88 120 178 98 84

Construction........................................................................ 2,837 3,420 3,743 3,105 2,865

Manufacturing................................................................ 1,952 2,252 2,863 1,655 1,327

Durable goods............................................................. 1,202 1,441 1,836 954 747

Nondurable goods...................................................... 751 809 1,028 701 581

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 4,187 4,718 5,007 3,720 3,400

Wholesale trade............................................................... 764 898 1,083 741 591

Retail trade....................................................................... 2,733 3,027 2,875 2,315 2,154

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 691 796 1,047 669 655

Information....................................................................... 284 364 379 292 284

Financial activities........................................................ 1,079 1,030 1,264 776 650

Finance and insurance............................................. 592 616 693 450 344

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................488 415 571 325 307

Professional and business services......................... 4,679 5,036 5,010 4,326 4,720

Education and health services................................................. 1,711 1,980 2,183 2,089 1,814

Educational services............................................... 369 382 453 399 369

Health care and social assistance........................1,341 1,598 1,728 1,691 1,445

Leisure and hospitality...................................................... 3,078 3,130 3,316 2,742 3,145

Arts, entertainment, and recreation......................864 900 833 785 953

Accommodation and food services................. 2,213 2,231 2,483 1,959 2,197

Other services....................................................................... 936 961 1,231 924 1,101

Government......................................................................................... 1,308 1,149 1,610 2,050 1,324

Federal................................................................................. 219 102 224 742 133

State and local.......................................................................... 1,090 1,047 1,387 1,312 1,194

REGION 2

Northeast................................................................................. 3,967 4,309 5,082 4,386 4,028

South................................................................................. 7,796 8,265 9,195 7,402 7,504

Midwest................................................................................. 4,992 5,115 5,824 5,000 4,638

West................................................................................. 5,385 6,481 6,681 4,994 4,550

 1 The annual layoffs and discharges level is the total number of layoffs and discharges during the entire year.

 2 See footnote 8, table 1.

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics 

employment estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Table 18. Annual layoffs and discharges rates 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Total........................................................................................................... 16.1 17.7 20.5 16.8 15.8

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 18.1 20.1 23.3 18.4 17.8

Mining and logging................................................... 12.2 15.7 25.6 13.9 10.7

Construction........................................................................ 37.2 47.8 62.2 56.3 52.1

Manufacturing................................................................ 14.1 16.8 24.2 14.4 11.3

Durable goods............................................................. 13.6 17.0 25.2 13.5 10.3

Nondurable goods...................................................... 14.8 16.4 22.5 15.7 13.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 15.7 17.9 20.1 15.1 13.6

Wholesale trade............................................................... 12.7 15.1 19.4 13.6 10.7

Retail trade....................................................................... 17.6 19.8 19.8 16.0 14.7

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 13.6 15.7 21.8 14.1 13.5

Information....................................................................... 9.4 12.2 13.5 10.8 10.7

Financial activities........................................................ 13.0 12.6 16.3 10.1 8.5

Finance and insurance............................................. 9.7 10.2 12.0 7.9 6.0

Real estate and rental and leasing....................... 225 19.5 28.6 16.8 15.9

Professional and business services......................... 26.1 28.4 30.2 25.9 27.2

Education and health services................................................. 9.3 10.5 11.4 10.7 9.1

Educational services............................................... 12.5 12.6 14.7 12.6 11.4

Health care and social assistance........................8.7 10.1 10.7 10.3 8.7

Leisure and hospitality...................................................... 22.9 23.3 25.4 21.0 23.6

Arts, entertainment, and recreation...................... 43.9 45.7 43.5 41.0 49.9

Accommodation and food services................. 19.3 19.5 22.2 17.6 19.3

Other services....................................................................... 17.0 17.4 22.9 17.3 20.6

Government......................................................................................... 5.9 5.1 7.1 9.1 6.0

Federal................................................................................. 8.0 3.7 7.9 24.9 4.7

State and local.......................................................................... 5.6 5.3 7.0 6.7 6.2

REGION 2

Northeast................................................................................. 15.5 16.7 20.4 17.7 16.1

South................................................................................. 15.7 16.7 19.4 15.7 15.7

Midwest................................................................................. 15.9 16.4 19.6 17.0 15.5

West................................................................................. 17.4 21.3 23.2 17.5 15.8

 1 The annual layoffs and discharges rate is the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire 

year as a percent of annual average employment.

 2 See footnote 8, table 1.

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics 

employment estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Table 19. Annual other separations levels 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Total..................................................................................................... 4,407 3,876 3,722 3,892 3,943

INDUSTRY

Total private.............................................................................. 3,568 3,251 3,104 3,133 3,188

Mining and logging...................................................35 29 29 23 17

Construction........................................................................ 228 220 134 190 154

Manufacturing................................................................ 373 330 276 244 250

Durable goods............................................................. 240 208 183 156 157

Nondurable goods...................................................... 134 119 95 87 94

Trade, transportation, and utilities..............................956 936 864 816 883

Wholesale trade............................................................... 123 121 154 125 193

Retail trade....................................................................... 636 638 568 492 481

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 198 177 140 199 213

Information....................................................................... 111 69 73 63 62

Financial activities........................................................ 242 262 197 286 211

Finance and insurance............................................. 163 180 147 233 156

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................80 82 52 56 55

Professional and business services......................... 675 568 630 610 600

Education and health services................................................. 433 444 511 426 538

Educational services............................................... 48 45 57 54 75

Health care and social assistance........................384 400 454 373 466

Leisure and hospitality............................................................... 315 300 262 350 327

Arts, entertainment, and recreation......................57 42 33 37 29

Accommodation and food services................. 255 258 228 310 299

Other services......................................................................... 201 93 134 127 142

Government.................................................................................... 839 627 618 760 756

Federal................................................................................. 299 102 108 108 130

State and local......................................................................... 540 525 510 652 627

REGION 2

Northeast................................................................................. 796 771 700 744 740

South................................................................................. 1,469 1,335 1,380 1,380 1,415

Midwest................................................................................. 984 866 831 886 941

West................................................................................. 1,161 904 811 882 846

 1 The annual other separations level is the total number of other separations during the entire year.

 2 See footnote 8, table 1.

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics 

employment estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Table 20. Annual other separations rates 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Total..................................................................................................... 3.2 2.8 2.8 3.0 3.0

INDUSTRY

Total private.............................................................................. 3.1 2.8 2.9 2.9 2.9

Mining and logging................................................... 4.8 3.8 4.2 3.3 2.2

Construction........................................................................ 3.0 3.1 2.2 3.4 2.8

Manufacturing................................................................ 2.7 2.5 2.3 2.1 2.1

Durable goods............................................................. 2.7 2.5 2.5 2.2 2.2

Nondurable goods...................................................... 2.6 2.4 2.1 1.9 2.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities..............................3.6 3.6 3.5 3.3 3.5

Wholesale trade............................................................... 2.0 2.0 2.8 2.3 3.5

Retail trade....................................................................... 4.1 4.2 3.9 3.4 3.3

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 3.9 3.5 2.9 4.2 4.4

Information....................................................................... 3.7 2.3 2.6 2.3 2.3

Financial activities........................................................ 2.9 3.2 2.5 3.7 2.7

Finance and insurance............................................. 2.7 3.0 2.5 4.1 2.7

Real estate and rental and leasing....................... 37 3.8 2.6 2.9 2.9

Professional and business services......................... 3.8 3.2 3.8 3.6 3.5

Education and health services................................................. 2.4 2.4 2.7 2.2 2.7

Educational services............................................... 1.6 1.5 1.8 1.7 2.3

Health care and social assistance........................2.5 2.5 2.8 2.3 2.8

Leisure and hospitality............................................................... 2.3 2.2 2.0 2.7 2.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation...................... 2.9 2.1 1.7 1.9 1.5

Accommodation and food services................. 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.8 2.6

Other services......................................................................... 3.7 1.7 2.5 2.4 2.7

Government.................................................................................... 3.8 2.8 2.7 3.4 3.4

Federal................................................................................. 10.9 3.7 3.8 3.6 4.5

State and local......................................................................... 2.8 2.7 2.6 3.3 3.3

REGION 2

Northeast................................................................................. 3.1 3.0 2.8 3.0 3.0

South................................................................................. 3.0 2.7 2.9 2.9 3.0

Midwest................................................................................. 3.1 2.8 2.8 3.0 3.2

West................................................................................. 3.8 3.0 2.8 3.1 2.9

 1 The annual other separations rate is the number of other separations during the entire year as a percent of

annual average employment.

 2 See footnote 8, table 1.

 NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics 

employment estimates and a revised birth/death model.

Industry and region 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011