For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, February 11, 2020 USDL-20-0243

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 – DECEMBER 2019

The number of job openings fell to 6.4 million (-364,000) on the last business day of December, the U.S. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires and separations were little changed at 

5.9 million and 5.7 million, respectively. Within separations, the quits rate and layoffs and discharges 

rate were unchanged at 2.3 percent and 1.2 percent respectively. This release includes estimates of the 

number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by 

four geographic regions.

Job Openings

On the last business day of December, the job openings level fell to 6.4 million (-364,000), and the job 

openings rate decreased to 4.0 percent. Over the year, the job openings level declined by 14.9 percent. 

Over the month, the number of job openings decreased for total private (-332,000) and was little 

changed for government. The largest decreases for job openings were in transportation, warehousing, 

and utilities (-88,000), real estate and rental and leasing (-34,000), and educational services (-34,000).

The number of job openings fell in the South region. (See tables 1 and 7.)

Hires

The number of hires was little changed at 5.9 million in December. The hires rate was little changed at

3.9 percent. The hires level increased in accommodation and food services (+69,000). The number of 

hires increased in the West region. (See table 2.)
- 2 -

Separations

Total separations includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Total separations is 

referred to as turnover. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, 

the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and 

discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations includes separations 

due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm.

In December, the number of total separations was little changed at 5.7 million and the rate was little 

changed at 3.8 percent. The number of total separations decreased in retail trade (-118,000) but 

increased in other services (+57,000). The total separations level increased in the South region. (See 

table 3.)

The number of quits was little changed in December at 3.5 million and the rate was unchanged at 2.3

percent. Quits decreased in retail trade (-111,000) and arts, entertainment, and recreation (-20,000). The 

number of quits was little changed in all four regions. (See table 4.)

The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed in December at 1.9 million and the rate was 

unchanged at 1.2 percent. Layoffs and discharges increased in other services (+61,000) and arts, 

entertainment, and recreation (+47,000). The number of layoffs and discharges decreased in state and 

local government, excluding education (-15,000) and federal government (-3,000). The layoffs and 

discharges level increased in the South region. (See table 5.)

The number of other separations was little changed in December. Other separations decreased in other 

services (-18,000). The number of other separations was little changed in all four regions. (See table 6.)

Net Change in Employment

Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout the business cycle. Net 

employment change results from the relationship between hires and separations. When the number of 

hires exceeds the number of separations, employment rises, even if the hires level is steady or declining. 

Conversely, when the number of hires is less than the number of separations, employment declines, even 

if the hires level is steady or rising.

Over the 12 months ending in December, hires totaled 70.0 million and separations totaled 67.8 million, 

yielding a net employment gain of 2.2 million. These totals include workers who may have been hired 

and separated more than once during the year.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for January 2020 are scheduled to be 

released on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
- 3 -

Upcoming Revisions to the JOLTS Estimates

As part of an annual process, the January 2020 release on March 17, 2020, will incorporate the 

annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the JOLTS 

seasonal adjustment factors. Unadjusted data and seasonally adjusted data from January 2015 

forward are subject to revision. 
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally adjusted

Category

Job openings Hires Total separations

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

LEVELS BY INDUSTRY

(in thousands)

Total................................................... 7,479 6,787 6,423 5,717 5,827 5,907 5,469 5,709 5,730

Total private....................................... 6,860 6,071 5,739 5,353 5,460 5,563 5,122 5,361 5,393

Mining and logging1............................ 29 22 14 39 24 26 34 30 30

Construction1................................... 299 217 239 399 439 484 369 426 435

Manufacturing.................................. 435 381 360 351 339 330 342 333 340

Durable goods1.............................. 298 252 224 186 195 191 175 195 198

Nondurable goods1

.......................... 137 129 136 165 143 139 167 138 143

Trade, transportation, and utilities........... 1,482 1,244 1,121 1,176 1,166 1,148 1,134 1,231 1,101

Wholesale trade............................. 178 190 190 151 157 128 143 149 121

Retail trade................................... 986 733 698 802 769 767 765 847 729

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities1

..................................... 318 321 233 224 240 253 226 235 251

Information1

..................................... 123 136 113 80 89 81 87 79 83

Financial activities.............................. 380 353 303 201 232 221 180 216 196

Finance and insurance..................... 317 252 236 133 145 136 131 145 126

Real estate and rental and leasing1. . . . .. 63 102 68 67 87 85 49 70 70

Professional and business services......... 1,391 1,218 1,178 1,144 1,156 1,149 1,116 1,121 1,113

Education and health services............... 1,348 1,293 1,199 717 724 718 652 664 677

Educational services1

....................... 91 146 112 124 106 104 101 92 92

Health care and social assistance. . . . . . .. 1,258 1,147 1,087 593 618 614 551 572 585

Leisure and hospitality........................ 1,102 982 969 1,037 1,081 1,147 1,007 1,073 1,174

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. . . . . .. 154 124 147 154 184 182 153 177 203

Accommodation and food services. . . . . .. 948 858 822 883 897 966 853 896 971

Other services.................................. 271 226 243 209 211 259 201 187 244

Government....................................... 619 716 684 364 367 344 347 348 336

Federal1

......................................... 87 105 81 36 46 42 44 44 41

State and local................................. 532 611 604 328 321 302 304 305 295

State and local education.................. 229 223 225 176 162 147 163 150 158

State and local, excluding education1

. . .. 304 388 379 152 159 156 141 155 138

RATES BY INDUSTRY

(percent)

Total................................................... 4.7 4.3 4.0 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.6 3.7 3.8

Total private....................................... 5.1 4.5 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.0 4.1 4.2

Mining and logging1

............................ 3.8 2.8 1.8 5.1 3.3 3.6 4.5 4.0 4.1

Construction1

................................... 3.9 2.8 3.1 5.4 5.8 6.4 5.0 5.7 5.8

Manufacturing.................................. 3.3 2.9 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.6

Durable goods1

.............................. 3.6 3.0 2.7 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.2 2.4 2.5

Nondurable goods1.......................... 2.8 2.6 2.8 3.5 3.0 2.9 3.5 2.9 3.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities........... 5.1 4.3 3.9 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.4 3.9

Wholesale trade............................. 2.9 3.1 3.1 2.6 2.6 2.1 2.4 2.5 2.0

Retail trade................................... 5.9 4.4 4.2 5.1 4.9 4.8 4.8 5.4 4.6

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities1

..................................... 5.0 5.0 3.7 3.7 3.9 4.1 3.7 3.8 4.1

Information1

..................................... 4.2 4.6 3.8 2.8 3.1 2.9 3.1 2.8 2.9

Financial activities.............................. 4.2 3.9 3.4 2.3 2.7 2.5 2.1 2.5 2.2

Finance and insurance..................... 4.8 3.8 3.6 2.1 2.3 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.0

Real estate and rental and leasing1. . . . .. 2.7 4.2 2.8 2.9 3.7 3.6 2.1 3.0 3.0

Professional and business services......... 6.1 5.3 5.2 5.4 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.1

Education and health services............... 5.3 5.0 4.7 3.0 3.0 2.9 2.7 2.7 2.8

Educational services1

....................... 2.4 3.7 2.8 3.3 2.8 2.7 2.7 2.4 2.4

Health care and social assistance. . . . . . .. 5.9 5.3 5.0 2.9 3.0 3.0 2.7 2.8 2.8

Leisure and hospitality........................ 6.2 5.5 5.4 6.3 6.4 6.8 6.1 6.3 6.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. . . . . .. 5.9 4.7 5.5 6.3 7.3 7.2 6.3 7.1 8.0

Accommodation and food services. . . . . .. 6.3 5.6 5.4 6.3 6.2 6.7 6.0 6.2 6.7

Other services.................................. 4.4 3.7 3.9 3.6 3.6 4.3 3.4 3.1 4.1

See footnotes at end of table.
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally adjusted — Continued

Category

Job openings Hires Total separations

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Government....................................... 2.7 3.1 2.9 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

Federal1

......................................... 3.0 3.6 2.8 1.3 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.5

State and local................................. 2.6 3.0 3.0 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

State and local education.................. 2.1 2.1 2.1 1.7 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.4 1.5

State and local, excluding education1

. . .. 3.2 4.0 3.9 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.5 1.7 1.5

1 No regular seasonal movements could be identified in the job openings series, therefore, the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data

are identical.

p Preliminary
Technical Note 

This news release presents statistics from the Job 

Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The 

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects and compiles 

JOLTS data monthly from a sample of nonfarm 

establishments. A more detailed discussion of JOLTS 

concepts and methodology is available online at 

www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch18.pdf. 

Coverage and collection

The JOLTS program covers all private nonfarm establishments, as well as federal, state, and local government 

entities in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data 

are collected for total employment, job openings, hires, 

quits, layoffs and discharges, other separations, and total 

separations. 

Concepts

Industry classification. The industry classifications in 

this release are in accordance with the 2017 version of the 

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). 

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. Job openings information is collected 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 whether or not the employer found a 

suitable candidate, and 3) the employer is actively 

recruiting from outside the establishment to fill the 

position. Included are full-time, 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. The hires level is 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. The separations level is the total number of 

employment terminations occurring at any time during the 

reference month, and is reported by type of separation—

quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. 

(Some respondents are only able to report total 

separations.) The quits count includes voluntary 

separations by employees (except for retirements, which 

are reported as other separations). The layoffs and 

discharges count is comprised of involuntary separations 

initiated by the employer and includes 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. The 

other separations count includes retirements, transfers to 

other locations, deaths, and separations due to disability. 

The separations count does 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. 

Annual estimates. Annual levels for hires, quits, layoffs 

and discharges, other separations, and total separations 

are the sum of the 12 published monthly levels. Annual 

rates 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. Consistent with BLS practice, annual 

estimates are published only for not seasonally adjusted 

data and are released with the January news release each 

year. 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. 
Sample and estimation methodology

The JOLTS survey design is a stratified random sample of 

16,000 nonfarm business and government establishments. 

The sample is stratified by ownership, region, industry 

sector, and establishment size class. The establishments 

are drawn from a universe of over 9.1 million 

establishments compiled by the Quarterly Census of 

Employment and Wages (QCEW) program which

includes all employers subject to state unemployment 

insurance laws and federal agencies subject to the 

Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees

program.

JOLTS total employment estimates are benchmarked, or 

ratio adjusted, monthly to the strike-adjusted employment 

estimates of the 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. To compensate for the 

inability to capture data from these establishments, BLS 

has developed a birth/death model that uses birth and 

death activity from previous years. The estimates of job 

openings, hires, and separations produced by the 

birth/death model are added to the sample-based estimates 

produced from the survey to arrive at the estimates for 

openings, hires, and separations.

Seasonal adjustment

BLS uses X-13 ARIMA to seasonally adjust several 

JOLTS series utilizing moving averages as seasonal 

filters. 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 current month data. JOLTS seasonal adjustment 

includes both additive and multiplicative models and 

REGARIMA (regression with auto-correlated 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

The JOLTS measures for hires minus separations can be 

used to derive a measure of net employment change. This 

change should be comparable to the net employment 

change from the much larger CES survey. 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.

This 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 change and the CES net employment change 

is calculated. Next, the JOLTS implied employment 

change is adjusted to equal the CES net employment 

change through a proportional adjustment. This procedure 

adjusts the two components (hires, separations) 

proportionally to their contribution to the total churn 

(hires plus separations). 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. 

Reliability of the estimates

JOLTS estimates are subject to both sampling and 

nonsampling error. When a sample is surveyed rather than 

the entire population, 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. Sampling error estimates are available

at www.bls.gov/jlt/jolts_median_standard_errors.htm.

The JOLTS estimates also are affected by non-sampling 

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 and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

Dec.

2018

Aug.

2019

Sept.

2019

Oct.

2019

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Aug.

2019

Sept.

2019

Oct.

2019

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Total............................................... 7,479 7,301 7,032 7,361 6,787 6,423 4.7 4.6 4.4 4.6 4.3 4.0

INDUSTRY

Total private................................... 6,860 6,562 6,314 6,600 6,071 5,739 5.1 4.8 4.7 4.9 4.5 4.2

Mining and logging3....................... 29 33 34 23 22 14 3.8 4.3 4.4 3.0 2.8 1.8

Construction3

............................... 299 384 327 326 217 239 3.9 4.9 4.2 4.2 2.8 3.1

Manufacturing.............................. 435 470 462 447 381 360 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.4 2.9 2.7

Durable goods3

.......................... 298 321 292 307 252 224 3.6 3.8 3.5 3.7 3.0 2.7

Nondurable goods3

...................... 137 149 170 140 129 136 2.8 3.0 3.4 2.8 2.6 2.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . .. 1,482 1,337 1,285 1,487 1,244 1,121 5.1 4.6 4.4 5.1 4.3 3.9

Wholesale trade......................... 178 193 202 260 190 190 2.9 3.2 3.3 4.2 3.1 3.1

Retail trade............................... 986 816 741 884 733 698 5.9 4.9 4.5 5.3 4.4 4.2

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities3

................................. 318 327 343 343 321 233 5.0 5.1 5.3 5.3 5.0 3.7

Information3................................. 123 137 162 138 136 113 4.2 4.6 5.4 4.7 4.6 3.8

Financial activities......................... 380 377 360 422 353 303 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.6 3.9 3.4

Finance and insurance................. 317 269 267 324 252 236 4.8 4.1 4.0 4.8 3.8 3.6

Real estate and rental and leasing3... 63 107 92 98 102 68 2.7 4.4 3.8 4.0 4.2 2.8

Professional and business services. . . .. 1,391 1,305 1,241 1,236 1,218 1,178 6.1 5.7 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.2

Education and health services........... 1,348 1,330 1,205 1,277 1,293 1,199 5.3 5.2 4.7 5.0 5.0 4.7

Educational services3................... 91 135 125 145 146 112 2.4 3.4 3.2 3.6 3.7 2.8

Health care and social assistance. . .. 1,258 1,195 1,080 1,133 1,147 1,087 5.9 5.5 5.0 5.2 5.3 5.0

Leisure and hospitality.................... 1,102 929 992 996 982 969 6.2 5.3 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.4

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. .. 154 120 154 138 124 147 5.9 4.7 5.9 5.3 4.7 5.5

Accommodation and food services. .. 948 809 838 858 858 822 6.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.6 5.4

Other services.............................. 271 261 245 248 226 243 4.4 4.2 4.0 4.0 3.7 3.9

Government................................... 619 739 719 761 716 684 2.7 3.2 3.1 3.3 3.1 2.9

Federal3

..................................... 87 121 110 120 105 81 3.0 4.1 3.7 4.1 3.6 2.8

State and local............................. 532 618 608 641 611 604 2.6 3.0 3.0 3.1 3.0 3.0

State and local education.............. 229 218 222 231 223 225 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1

State and local, excluding

education3

............................. 304 400 387 410 388 379 3.2 4.1 4.0 4.2 4.0 3.9

REGION4

Northeast...................................... 1,230 1,348 1,203 1,264 1,180 1,102 4.3 4.6 4.1 4.3 4.0 3.8

South........................................... 2,848 2,765 2,687 2,836 2,535 2,359 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.9 4.4 4.1

Midwest........................................ 1,767 1,569 1,563 1,675 1,500 1,422 5.1 4.5 4.5 4.8 4.3 4.1

West............................................ 1,634 1,620 1,580 1,586 1,572 1,540 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.2

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 No regular seasonal movements could be identified in this series; therefore, identical numbers appear for the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted

series.

4 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

p Preliminary
Table 2. Hires levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

Dec.

2018

Aug.

2019

Sept.

2019

Oct.

2019

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Aug.

2019

Sept.

2019

Oct.

2019

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Total............................................... 5,717 5,884 5,951 5,782 5,827 5,907 3.8 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.9

INDUSTRY

Total private................................... 5,353 5,489 5,596 5,426 5,460 5,563 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.3

Mining and logging......................... 39 21 25 27 24 26 5.1 2.8 3.4 3.7 3.3 3.6

Construction................................ 399 414 451 488 439 484 5.4 5.5 6.0 6.5 5.8 6.4

Manufacturing.............................. 351 337 338 321 339 330 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.6 2.6

Durable goods........................... 186 192 194 184 195 191 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.4

Nondurable goods....................... 165 145 144 137 143 139 3.5 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.0 2.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . .. 1,176 1,173 1,197 1,114 1,166 1,148 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.0 4.2 4.1

Wholesale trade......................... 151 145 165 146 157 128 2.6 2.4 2.8 2.4 2.6 2.1

Retail trade............................... 802 782 788 712 769 767 5.1 5.0 5.0 4.5 4.9 4.8

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities.................................. 224 245 244 257 240 253 3.7 4.0 4.0 4.2 3.9 4.1

Information.................................. 80 95 88 94 89 81 2.8 3.4 3.1 3.3 3.1 2.9

Financial activities......................... 201 235 230 210 232 221 2.3 2.7 2.6 2.4 2.7 2.5

Finance and insurance................. 133 148 145 131 145 136 2.1 2.3 2.3 2.1 2.3 2.1

Real estate and rental and leasing. .. 67 86 85 79 87 85 2.9 3.7 3.6 3.4 3.7 3.6

Professional and business services. . . .. 1,144 1,163 1,209 1,143 1,156 1,149 5.4 5.4 5.6 5.3 5.3 5.3

Education and health services........... 717 686 719 712 724 718 3.0 2.8 2.9 2.9 3.0 2.9

Educational services.................... 124 94 96 108 106 104 3.3 2.5 2.5 2.8 2.8 2.7

Health care and social assistance. . .. 593 593 623 604 618 614 2.9 2.9 3.0 2.9 3.0 3.0

Leisure and hospitality.................... 1,037 1,135 1,150 1,098 1,081 1,147 6.3 6.8 6.9 6.5 6.4 6.8

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. .. 154 161 167 161 184 182 6.3 6.6 6.7 6.5 7.3 7.2

Accommodation and food services. .. 883 973 984 937 897 966 6.3 6.8 6.9 6.5 6.2 6.7

Other services.............................. 209 229 188 218 211 259 3.6 3.9 3.2 3.7 3.6 4.3

Government................................... 364 396 355 356 367 344 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5

Federal...................................... 36 70 41 40 46 42 1.3 2.5 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.5

State and local............................. 328 325 314 316 321 302 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5

State and local education.............. 176 169 154 157 162 147 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4

State and local, excluding

education.............................. 152 156 160 158 159 156 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7

REGION3

Northeast...................................... 871 935 900 919 949 934 3.2 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.3

South........................................... 2,204 2,306 2,413 2,307 2,315 2,344 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.2 4.2 4.2

Midwest........................................ 1,324 1,285 1,295 1,266 1,324 1,269 4.0 3.9 3.9 3.8 4.0 3.8

West............................................ 1,318 1,358 1,343 1,290 1,239 1,360 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.5 3.9

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 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

p Preliminary
Table 3. Total separations levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

Dec.

2018

Aug.

2019

Sept.

2019

Oct.

2019

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Aug.

2019

Sept.

2019

Oct.

2019

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Total............................................... 5,469 5,732 5,798 5,652 5,709 5,730 3.6 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.8

INDUSTRY

Total private................................... 5,122 5,385 5,454 5,282 5,361 5,393 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.2

Mining and logging......................... 34 28 24 27 30 30 4.5 3.7 3.2 3.6 4.0 4.1

Construction................................ 369 415 428 456 426 435 5.0 5.5 5.7 6.1 5.7 5.8

Manufacturing.............................. 342 320 349 324 333 340 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.5 2.6 2.6

Durable goods........................... 175 183 203 193 195 198 2.2 2.3 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.5

Nondurable goods....................... 167 137 145 131 138 143 3.5 2.9 3.0 2.7 2.9 3.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . .. 1,134 1,202 1,204 1,086 1,231 1,101 4.1 4.3 4.3 3.9 4.4 3.9

Wholesale trade......................... 143 145 167 139 149 121 2.4 2.4 2.8 2.3 2.5 2.0

Retail trade............................... 765 817 801 708 847 729 4.8 5.2 5.1 4.5 5.4 4.6

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities.................................. 226 241 236 240 235 251 3.7 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.8 4.1

Information.................................. 87 94 84 90 79 83 3.1 3.3 3.0 3.2 2.8 2.9

Financial activities......................... 180 240 215 201 216 196 2.1 2.8 2.5 2.3 2.5 2.2

Finance and insurance................. 131 151 132 125 145 126 2.1 2.4 2.1 2.0 2.3 2.0

Real estate and rental and leasing. .. 49 89 83 76 70 70 2.1 3.8 3.6 3.3 3.0 3.0

Professional and business services. . . .. 1,116 1,145 1,168 1,099 1,121 1,113 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.1 5.2 5.1

Education and health services........... 652 633 655 662 664 677 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.8

Educational services.................... 101 98 87 99 92 92 2.7 2.6 2.3 2.6 2.4 2.4

Health care and social assistance. . .. 551 535 568 564 572 585 2.7 2.6 2.8 2.7 2.8 2.8

Leisure and hospitality.................... 1,007 1,110 1,125 1,097 1,073 1,174 6.1 6.6 6.7 6.5 6.3 6.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. .. 153 159 154 174 177 203 6.3 6.5 6.2 7.0 7.1 8.0

Accommodation and food services. .. 853 951 972 923 896 971 6.0 6.7 6.8 6.4 6.2 6.7

Other services.............................. 201 199 201 239 187 244 3.4 3.3 3.4 4.0 3.1 4.1

Government................................... 347 347 344 370 348 336 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.5

Federal...................................... 44 40 41 54 44 41 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.9 1.5 1.5

State and local............................. 304 307 304 316 305 295 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.5

State and local education.............. 163 153 153 159 150 158 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.5

State and local, excluding

education.............................. 141 154 151 156 155 138 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.5

REGION3

Northeast...................................... 820 914 863 923 910 879 3.0 3.3 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.1

South........................................... 2,197 2,287 2,301 2,114 2,155 2,297 4.0 4.1 4.1 3.8 3.9 4.1

Midwest........................................ 1,231 1,195 1,272 1,225 1,283 1,209 3.7 3.6 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.6

West............................................ 1,221 1,336 1,363 1,390 1,361 1,345 3.5 3.8 3.9 4.0 3.9 3.8

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 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

p Preliminary
Table 4. Quits levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

Dec.

2018

Aug.

2019

Sept.

2019

Oct.

2019

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Aug.

2019

Sept.

2019

Oct.

2019

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Total............................................... 3,391 3,601 3,471 3,497 3,568 3,488 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3

INDUSTRY

Total private................................... 3,205 3,419 3,288 3,317 3,384 3,300 2.5 2.7 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.5

Mining and logging......................... 22 14 11 13 14 13 2.9 1.9 1.5 1.7 1.9 1.7

Construction................................ 185 182 187 184 167 169 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.2 2.2

Manufacturing.............................. 211 197 214 198 211 204 1.7 1.5 1.7 1.5 1.6 1.6

Durable goods........................... 111 114 126 115 115 112 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.4

Nondurable goods....................... 100 83 88 83 96 92 2.1 1.7 1.8 1.7 2.0 1.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . .. 715 777 731 663 842 731 2.6 2.8 2.6 2.4 3.0 2.6

Wholesale trade......................... 89 87 80 64 91 74 1.5 1.5 1.3 1.1 1.5 1.2

Retail trade............................... 493 554 522 465 616 505 3.1 3.5 3.3 2.9 3.9 3.2

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities.................................. 133 136 129 134 135 153 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.5

Information.................................. 43 49 43 45 44 45 1.5 1.7 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6

Financial activities......................... 106 152 128 132 149 122 1.2 1.8 1.5 1.5 1.7 1.4

Finance and insurance................. 76 92 88 87 103 83 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.3

Real estate and rental and leasing3

... 31 61 41 45 46 40 1.3 2.6 1.7 1.9 1.9 1.7

Professional and business services. . . .. 649 646 654 626 629 616 3.1 3.0 3.0 2.9 2.9 2.8

Education and health services........... 448 459 442 462 458 494 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.9 1.9 2.0

Educational services.................... 52 56 50 63 55 64 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.6 1.4 1.7

Health care and social assistance. . .. 397 402 393 400 404 430 2.0 2.0 1.9 1.9 2.0 2.1

Leisure and hospitality.................... 706 831 754 802 745 766 4.3 5.0 4.5 4.8 4.4 4.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. .. 56 83 77 90 86 66 2.3 3.4 3.1 3.6 3.4 2.6

Accommodation and food services. .. 650 748 677 712 659 700 4.6 5.3 4.7 5.0 4.6 4.9

Other services.............................. 120 113 124 192 126 141 2.0 1.9 2.1 3.2 2.1 2.4

Government................................... 186 181 182 180 184 187 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8

Federal...................................... 20 18 18 18 17 18 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7

State and local............................. 166 164 165 162 167 169 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9

State and local education.............. 89 87 88 85 86 93 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9

State and local, excluding

education.............................. 77 77 76 78 81 76 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8

REGION4

Northeast...................................... 464 546 468 507 479 464 1.7 2.0 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.7

South........................................... 1,423 1,440 1,369 1,349 1,444 1,446 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.6

Midwest........................................ 744 759 789 795 812 759 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.3

West............................................ 760 856 845 846 833 819 2.2 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.3

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 No regular seasonal movements could be identified in this series; therefore, identical numbers appear for the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted

series.

4 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

p Preliminary
Table 5. Layoffs and discharges levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

Dec.

2018

Aug.

2019

Sept.

2019

Oct.

2019

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Aug.

2019

Sept.

2019

Oct.

2019

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Total............................................... 1,751 1,812 1,971 1,795 1,768 1,895 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2

INDUSTRY

Total private................................... 1,653 1,709 1,871 1,674 1,669 1,819 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.4

Mining and logging......................... 10 10 12 13 15 15 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.7 2.0 2.1

Construction................................ 164 218 218 254 230 247 2.2 2.9 2.9 3.4 3.1 3.3

Manufacturing.............................. 111 104 112 106 100 111 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.9

Durable goods........................... 51 57 65 64 65 69 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9

Nondurable goods....................... 60 48 48 43 35 43 1.3 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . .. 360 368 400 355 305 304 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.1

Wholesale trade3

........................ 45 54 77 66 46 33 0.8 0.9 1.3 1.1 0.8 0.6

Retail trade............................... 230 227 235 200 178 185 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.1 1.2

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities.................................. 85 88 88 89 81 86 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.4

Information.................................. 38 38 36 38 33 31 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.1

Financial activities......................... 58 59 62 43 45 48 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.5

Finance and insurance................. 44 33 25 18 21 23 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.4

Real estate and rental and leasing. .. 14 26 37 25 24 25 0.6 1.1 1.6 1.1 1.0 1.1

Professional and business services. . . .. 406 441 456 416 436 451 1.9 2.1 2.1 1.9 2.0 2.1

Education and health services........... 155 137 178 165 170 142 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6

Educational services.................... 42 36 33 29 32 23 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.6

Health care and social assistance. . .. 112 100 145 136 138 119 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6

Leisure and hospitality.................... 279 257 335 249 299 371 1.7 1.5 2.0 1.5 1.8 2.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. .. 96 71 72 79 86 133 3.9 2.9 2.9 3.2 3.4 5.3

Accommodation and food services. .. 183 186 263 170 212 238 1.3 1.3 1.8 1.2 1.5 1.7

Other services.............................. 73 76 62 35 37 98 1.2 1.3 1.0 0.6 0.6 1.6

Government................................... 98 102 100 121 98 76 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.3

Federal...................................... 9 10 9 25 12 9 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.9 0.4 0.3

State and local............................. 89 93 91 96 86 67 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.3

State and local education.............. 51 43 41 46 39 36 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3

State and local, excluding

education.............................. 38 49 50 50 47 32 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.3

REGION4

Northeast...................................... 303 314 330 352 363 348 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.2

South........................................... 649 717 788 641 578 729 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.2 1.0 1.3

Midwest........................................ 407 375 406 351 394 378 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1

West............................................ 392 406 446 450 432 441 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.3

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 No regular seasonal movements could be identified in this series; therefore, identical numbers appear for the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted

series.

4 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

p Preliminary
Table 6. Other separations levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

Dec.

2018

Aug.

2019

Sept.

2019

Oct.

2019

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Aug.

2019

Sept.

2019

Oct.

2019

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Total............................................... 327 320 356 360 373 347 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

INDUSTRY

Total private................................... 263 256 295 291 307 274 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

Mining and logging......................... 2 3 1 1 1 2 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2

Construction3

............................... 21 16 22 17 29 19 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.3

Manufacturing.............................. 19 19 23 19 22 25 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

Durable goods........................... 13 12 13 14 15 17 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

Nondurable goods3

...................... 6 6 10 5 7 9 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . .. 59 58 73 69 85 66 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2

Wholesale trade......................... 8 4 10 9 12 14 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

Retail trade............................... 41 37 44 42 53 40 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities3

................................. 9 17 19 17 19 12 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2

Information3................................. 6 6 6 8 3 6 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.2

Financial activities......................... 15 28 25 26 22 26 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

Finance and insurance................. 11 26 19 20 21 21 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

Real estate and rental and leasing3

... 4 2 6 6 1 5 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.2

Professional and business services. . . .. 61 58 59 57 57 46 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2

Education and health services........... 49 37 35 35 36 41 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2

Educational services.................... 7 5 5 7 5 5 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1

Health care and social assistance3

. .. 42 33 30 28 30 36 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2

Leisure and hospitality.................... 22 22 37 46 29 36 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation3

... 1 5 5 6 5 3 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1

Accommodation and food services3... 21 16 32 40 25 33 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2

Other services3............................. 9 10 15 13 24 6 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.1

Government................................... 64 64 62 69 66 73 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

Federal...................................... 15 12 14 12 14 14 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.5

State and local............................. 49 51 48 57 52 59 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3

State and local education.............. 23 23 23 29 25 29 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3

State and local, excluding

education.............................. 25 28 25 28 27 30 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

REGION4

Northeast...................................... 53 54 64 64 67 68 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

South........................................... 125 130 144 124 134 123 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2

Midwest........................................ 80 61 76 79 77 71 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

West............................................ 70 74 72 93 95 85 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2

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 No regular seasonal movements could be identified in this series; therefore, identical numbers appear for the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted

series.

4 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

p Preliminary

NOTE: Levels are rounded to the nearest thousand and rates are rounded to the nearest tenth. Levels and rates may round down to zero.
Table 7. Job openings levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Total..................................................................... 6,921 6,468 5,892 4.4 4.0 3.7

INDUSTRY

Total private.......................................................... 6,321 5,761 5,221 4.7 4.2 3.9

Mining and logging............................................... 29 22 14 3.8 2.8 1.8

Construction....................................................... 299 217 239 3.9 2.8 3.1

Manufacturing..................................................... 435 381 360 3.3 2.9 2.7

Durable goods.................................................. 298 252 224 3.6 3.0 2.7

Nondurable goods............................................. 137 129 136 2.8 2.6 2.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 1,350 1,208 1,003 4.5 4.1 3.4

Wholesale trade................................................ 163 163 167 2.7 2.7 2.7

Retail trade..................................................... 868 724 603 5.1 4.3 3.6

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities.................. 318 321 233 4.8 4.9 3.5

Information........................................................ 123 136 113 4.1 4.5 3.8

Financial activities................................................ 373 343 298 4.1 3.8 3.3

Finance and insurance........................................ 310 241 231 4.7 3.6 3.5

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................... 63 102 68 2.7 4.2 2.8

Professional and business services............................ 1,275 1,121 1,043 5.6 4.9 4.6

Education and health services.................................. 1,294 1,232 1,152 5.1 4.7 4.4

Educational services.......................................... 91 146 112 2.3 3.5 2.8

Health care and social assistance........................... 1,204 1,086 1,039 5.6 5.0 4.8

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 893 904 775 5.2 5.2 4.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......................... 102 99 109 4.3 4.1 4.4

Accommodation and food services.......................... 791 805 666 5.4 5.3 4.5

Other services.................................................... 250 197 225 4.1 3.2 3.7

Government.......................................................... 600 707 670 2.6 3.0 2.8

Federal............................................................. 87 105 81 3.0 3.6 2.8

State and local.................................................... 514 602 590 2.5 2.9 2.8

State and local education..................................... 210 214 211 1.9 1.9 1.9

State and local, excluding education........................ 304 388 379 3.2 4.0 4.0

REGION3

Northeast............................................................. 1,154 1,122 1,034 4.0 3.8 3.5

South................................................................. 2,672 2,452 2,197 4.6 4.2 3.8

Midwest............................................................... 1,619 1,445 1,276 4.6 4.1 3.6

West.................................................................. 1,476 1,449 1,385 4.1 3.9 3.8

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 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

p Preliminary
Table 8. Hires levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Total..................................................................... 4,210 5,401 4,367 2.8 3.5 2.8

INDUSTRY

Total private.......................................................... 3,991 5,108 4,159 3.1 3.9 3.2

Mining and logging............................................... 27 20 16 3.6 2.7 2.3

Construction....................................................... 221 325 278 3.0 4.3 3.7

Manufacturing..................................................... 233 281 218 1.8 2.2 1.7

Durable goods.................................................. 123 166 126 1.5 2.1 1.6

Nondurable goods............................................. 110 115 92 2.3 2.4 1.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 953 1,480 931 3.3 5.2 3.3

Wholesale trade................................................ 113 125 94 1.9 2.1 1.6

Retail trade..................................................... 612 972 578 3.8 6.0 3.5

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities.................. 228 382 260 3.6 6.1 4.1

Information........................................................ 60 87 59 2.1 3.0 2.1

Financial activities................................................ 138 200 155 1.6 2.3 1.8

Finance and insurance........................................ 96 126 98 1.5 2.0 1.5

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................... 42 74 56 1.9 3.2 2.4

Professional and business services............................ 938 1,050 938 4.4 4.8 4.3

Education and health services.................................. 515 610 522 2.1 2.5 2.1

Educational services.......................................... 68 76 57 1.8 1.9 1.4

Health care and social assistance........................... 447 534 465 2.2 2.6 2.2

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 770 894 867 4.8 5.4 5.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......................... 101 136 125 4.5 5.9 5.3

Accommodation and food services.......................... 668 758 742 4.8 5.3 5.2

Other services.................................................... 135 162 175 2.3 2.7 2.9

Government.......................................................... 219 294 208 1.0 1.3 0.9

Federal............................................................. 27 55 32 1.0 2.0 1.1

State and local.................................................... 192 238 176 1.0 1.2 0.9

State and local education..................................... 95 112 77 0.9 1.0 0.7

State and local, excluding education........................ 97 126 99 1.1 1.4 1.1

REGION3

Northeast............................................................. 640 861 666 2.3 3.1 2.4

South................................................................. 1,650 2,131 1,780 3.0 3.8 3.2

Midwest............................................................... 949 1,230 907 2.9 3.6 2.7

West.................................................................. 971 1,179 1,014 2.8 3.3 2.9

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 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

p Preliminary
Table 9. Total separations levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Total..................................................................... 5,139 5,032 5,394 3.4 3.3 3.5

INDUSTRY

Total private.......................................................... 4,842 4,779 5,110 3.8 3.7 3.9

Mining and logging............................................... 33 25 31 4.3 3.3 4.3

Construction....................................................... 392 427 487 5.4 5.6 6.5

Manufacturing..................................................... 287 280 289 2.2 2.2 2.2

Durable goods.................................................. 143 159 166 1.8 2.0 2.1

Nondurable goods............................................. 144 121 123 3.0 2.5 2.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 1,195 1,102 1,131 4.2 3.9 3.9

Wholesale trade................................................ 124 129 106 2.1 2.2 1.8

Retail trade..................................................... 807 759 730 5.0 4.7 4.5

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities.................. 263 214 295 4.2 3.4 4.6

Information........................................................ 77 66 75 2.7 2.3 2.6

Financial activities................................................ 168 190 174 1.9 2.2 2.0

Finance and insurance........................................ 121 123 109 1.9 1.9 1.7

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................... 46 67 65 2.0 2.9 2.8

Professional and business services............................ 1,111 1,018 1,109 5.2 4.7 5.1

Education and health services.................................. 557 531 579 2.3 2.1 2.3

Educational services.......................................... 76 53 68 2.0 1.3 1.7

Health care and social assistance........................... 481 478 511 2.4 2.3 2.5

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 858 978 1,019 5.3 5.9 6.1

Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......................... 118 190 169 5.2 8.2 7.2

Accommodation and food services.......................... 741 787 850 5.3 5.5 6.0

Other services.................................................... 163 161 216 2.8 2.7 3.6

Government.......................................................... 297 253 284 1.3 1.1 1.2

Federal............................................................. 45 43 45 1.6 1.5 1.6

State and local.................................................... 253 210 238 1.3 1.0 1.2

State and local education..................................... 127 78 113 1.2 0.7 1.0

State and local, excluding education........................ 126 133 125 1.4 1.4 1.4

REGION3

Northeast............................................................. 801 820 863 2.9 2.9 3.1

South................................................................. 1,956 1,832 2,068 3.5 3.3 3.7

Midwest............................................................... 1,210 1,181 1,178 3.6 3.5 3.5

West.................................................................. 1,172 1,200 1,285 3.4 3.4 3.6

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 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

p Preliminary
Table 10. Quits levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Total..................................................................... 2,908 2,967 2,975 1.9 1.9 1.9

INDUSTRY

Total private.......................................................... 2,771 2,831 2,837 2.2 2.2 2.2

Mining and logging............................................... 18 10 10 2.4 1.4 1.3

Construction....................................................... 157 131 138 2.1 1.7 1.9

Manufacturing..................................................... 154 160 147 1.2 1.2 1.1

Durable goods.................................................. 81 84 80 1.0 1.0 1.0

Nondurable goods............................................. 73 76 68 1.5 1.6 1.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 657 738 662 2.3 2.6 2.3

Wholesale trade................................................ 72 73 57 1.2 1.2 1.0

Retail trade..................................................... 448 535 442 2.7 3.3 2.7

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities.................. 138 129 163 2.2 2.1 2.6

Information........................................................ 36 36 38 1.3 1.3 1.3

Financial activities................................................ 99 134 110 1.2 1.5 1.3

Finance and insurance........................................ 69 89 70 1.1 1.4 1.1

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................... 31 46 40 1.3 1.9 1.7

Professional and business services............................ 583 548 547 2.7 2.5 2.5

Education and health services.................................. 377 368 423 1.6 1.5 1.7

Educational services.......................................... 36 35 46 0.9 0.9 1.2

Health care and social assistance........................... 341 332 378 1.7 1.6 1.8

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 597 603 644 3.7 3.6 3.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......................... 40 62 47 1.8 2.7 2.0

Accommodation and food services.......................... 557 541 597 4.0 3.8 4.2

Other services.................................................... 93 101 118 1.6 1.7 2.0

Government.......................................................... 137 136 138 0.6 0.6 0.6

Federal............................................................. 18 18 18 0.6 0.6 0.6

State and local.................................................... 119 118 120 0.6 0.6 0.6

State and local education..................................... 58 51 61 0.5 0.5 0.6

State and local, excluding education........................ 61 67 60 0.7 0.7 0.6

REGION3

Northeast............................................................. 404 395 391 1.5 1.4 1.4

South................................................................. 1,182 1,173 1,206 2.1 2.1 2.2

Midwest............................................................... 638 690 648 1.9 2.0 1.9

West.................................................................. 684 709 730 2.0 2.0 2.1

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 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

p Preliminary
Table 11. Layoffs and discharges levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Total..................................................................... 1,915 1,744 2,084 1.3 1.1 1.4

INDUSTRY

Total private.......................................................... 1,818 1,669 2,012 1.4 1.3 1.5

Mining and logging............................................... 12 13 20 1.7 1.8 2.7

Construction....................................................... 214 267 329 2.9 3.5 4.4

Manufacturing..................................................... 113 102 113 0.9 0.8 0.9

Durable goods.................................................. 48 63 66 0.6 0.8 0.8

Nondurable goods............................................. 66 38 47 1.4 0.8 1.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 485 288 406 1.7 1.0 1.4

Wholesale trade................................................ 45 46 33 0.8 0.8 0.6

Retail trade..................................................... 323 176 252 2.0 1.1 1.5

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities.................. 116 66 121 1.8 1.0 1.9

Information........................................................ 35 27 31 1.2 0.9 1.1

Financial activities................................................ 54 38 43 0.6 0.4 0.5

Finance and insurance........................................ 42 17 23 0.7 0.3 0.4

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................... 12 21 20 0.5 0.9 0.9

Professional and business services............................ 471 422 524 2.2 1.9 2.4

Education and health services.................................. 133 131 116 0.6 0.5 0.5

Educational services.......................................... 35 16 18 0.9 0.4 0.5

Health care and social assistance........................... 97 115 97 0.5 0.6 0.5

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 239 345 339 1.5 2.1 2.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......................... 77 123 119 3.4 5.3 5.1

Accommodation and food services.......................... 163 221 220 1.2 1.6 1.5

Other services.................................................... 61 36 92 1.0 0.6 1.5

Government.......................................................... 97 75 72 0.4 0.3 0.3

Federal............................................................. 10 14 12 0.4 0.5 0.4

State and local.................................................... 87 61 60 0.4 0.3 0.3

State and local education..................................... 53 17 33 0.5 0.2 0.3

State and local, excluding education........................ 34 44 27 0.4 0.5 0.3

REGION3

Northeast............................................................. 352 376 409 1.3 1.3 1.5

South................................................................. 647 528 739 1.2 0.9 1.3

Midwest............................................................... 490 428 457 1.5 1.3 1.4

West.................................................................. 426 412 478 1.2 1.2 1.3

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 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

p Preliminary
Table 12. Other separations levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Dec.

2018

Nov.

2019

Dec.

2019p

Total..................................................................... 316 321 335 0.2 0.2 0.2

INDUSTRY

Total private.......................................................... 253 279 261 0.2 0.2 0.2

Mining and logging............................................... 2 1 2 0.2 0.2 0.3

Construction....................................................... 21 29 19 0.3 0.4 0.3

Manufacturing..................................................... 21 18 29 0.2 0.1 0.2

Durable goods.................................................. 14 11 21 0.2 0.1 0.3

Nondurable goods............................................. 6 7 9 0.1 0.1 0.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 54 76 64 0.2 0.3 0.2

Wholesale trade................................................ 8 9 16 0.1 0.2 0.3

Retail trade..................................................... 37 47 36 0.2 0.3 0.2

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities.................. 9 19 12 0.1 0.3 0.2

Information........................................................ 6 3 6 0.2 0.1 0.2

Financial activities................................................ 14 19 22 0.2 0.2 0.3

Finance and insurance........................................ 10 18 17 0.2 0.3 0.3

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................... 4 1 5 0.2 0.0 0.2

Professional and business services............................ 58 48 37 0.3 0.2 0.2

Education and health services.................................. 47 33 40 0.2 0.1 0.2

Educational services.......................................... 5 2 4 0.1 0.1 0.1

Health care and social assistance........................... 42 30 36 0.2 0.1 0.2

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 22 29 36 0.1 0.2 0.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......................... 1 5 3 0.1 0.2 0.1

Accommodation and food services.......................... 21 25 33 0.1 0.2 0.2

Other services.................................................... 9 24 6 0.2 0.4 0.1

Government.......................................................... 63 42 74 0.3 0.2 0.3

Federal............................................................. 16 11 16 0.6 0.4 0.6

State and local.................................................... 46 31 58 0.2 0.2 0.3

State and local education..................................... 16 10 20 0.1 0.1 0.2

State and local, excluding education........................ 30 21 38 0.3 0.2 0.4

REGION3

Northeast............................................................. 45 51 63 0.2 0.2 0.2

South................................................................. 128 130 122 0.2 0.2 0.2

Midwest............................................................... 81 63 74 0.2 0.2 0.2

West.................................................................. 62 78 77 0.2 0.2 0.2

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 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

p Preliminary

NOTE: Levels are rounded to the nearest thousand and rates are rounded to the nearest tenth. Levels and rates may round down to zero.