1

Technical information: (202) 691-5870

 http://www.bls.gov/jlt/

Media contact: (202) 691-5902

USDL 08-0332

For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Chart 1. Job openings rate, seasonally adjusted,

 February 2005 - January 2008

1.5

1.7

1.9

2.1

2.3

2.5

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.5

3.7

3.9

Percent

2006 2007 2008

Chart 2. Hires and separations rates, seasonally adjusted,

 February 2005 - January 2008

2.5

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.5

3.7

3.9

Percent

Separations

Hires

2006 2007 2008

JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER: JANUARY 2008

On the last business day of January, there were 3.9 million job openings in the United States, and the

job openings rate was 2.8 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported

today. The job openings, hires, and total separations rates were essentially unchanged in January. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm

sector by industry and geographic region. This release also includes annual estimates for hires and separations. The annual hires rate decreased in 2007 while the turnover, or separations, rate was little changed.

Although the over-the-month changes in job openings, hires, and turnover data were small, the over-theyear changes were significant. From January 2007 to January 2008, the job openings, hires, quits, and total

separations rates all fell significantly for both the total nonfarm and total private sectors. (See tables 5, 6, 7,

and 8.)

Revisions to the JOLTS data

The job openings, hires, and separations data in this release have been revised to incorporate

annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the Job Openings

and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) seasonal adjustment factors. See page 5 for more

information.

News

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212

United States

Department 

of Labor
2

 Job openings

Industry

Hires Total separations

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

2007 2008 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2008

Levels (in thousands)

Rates (percent)

2007

1

p p p

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

Total ................................................................. 4,307 3,974 3,925 4,992 4,717 4,545 4,638 4,408 4,311

Total private ................................................ 3,846 3,526 3,474 4,630 4,314 4,109 4,315 4,107 4,030

Construction .............................................. 191 140 125 305 335 298 385 331 306

Manufacturing ........................................... 344 305 296 371 350 332 415 325 353

Trade, transportation, and utilities ...... 763 667 656 1,072 970 927 1,028 981 983

Retail trade .............................................. 424 358 353 793 693 678 706 686 668

Professional and business services ...... 707 706 731 907 851 877 861 814 785

Education and health services ............... 714 698 692 514 460 500 409 417 437

Leisure and hospitality ....................... . 566 574 526 951 880 787 799 803 738

Accommodation and food services ... 491 514 484 841 713 680 634 697 582

Government ................................................. 461 446 450 386 390 381 321 295 283

 State and local government ..................... 428 398 406 318 326 311 261 256 230

Total ................................................................. 3.0 2.8 2.8 3.6 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.1

Total private ................................................ 3.2 3.0 2.9 4.0 3.7 3.5 3.8 3.5 3.5

Construction .............................................. 2.4 1.8 1.7 4.0 4.5 4.0 5.0 4.4 4.1

Manufacturing ........................................... 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.6 2.5 2.4 3.0 2.4 2.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities ..... 2.8 2.4 2.4 4.0 3.6 3.5 3.9 3.7 3.7

Retail trade .............................................. 2.7 2.3 2.2 5.1 4.5 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.3

Professional and business services ...... 3.8 3.7 3.9 5.1 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.5 4.3

Education and health services ............... 3.8 3.6 3.6 2.8 2.5 2.7 2.3 2.2 2.3

Leisure and hospitality ........................... 4.1 4.0 3.7 7.2 6.4 5.8 6.0 5.9 5.4

Accommodation and food services ... 4.1 4.2 4.0 7.4 6.1 5.8 5.6 6.0 5.0

Government ................................................. 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.5 1.3 1.3

 State and local government ..................... 2.2 2.0 2.0 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.3 1.3 1.2

1

2

3

4

1

1

2

 3

4

Job Openings

In January, the total nonfarm job openings rate was 2.8 percent, unchanged from December. Job

openings include only those jobs open on the last business day of the month. Over the month, the job

openings rate did not change significantly in any industry or region. As has occurred nearly every month

since 2006, the seasonally adjusted job openings rate was highest in the accommodation and food services

industry (4.0 percent). (See table 1.)

Over the year, the job openings rate rose in federal government (to 1.4 percent). The rate fell over the

year for total nonfarm (2.6 percent) and total private (2.7 percent) as well as in several industries, including

construction (1.4 percent); durable goods manufacturing (1.8 percent); retail trade (1.9 percent);

transportation, warehousing, and utilities (2.1 percent); information (2.1 percent); arts, entertainment, and

recreation (2.1 percent); other services (1.6 percent); and state and local government (1.9 percent).

Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.

Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.

Includes arts, entertainment, and recreation, not shown separately.

Includes federal government, not shown separately.

1

2

3

4

p = preliminary.

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

 estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors.
3

Regionally, the job openings rate fell over the year in the South (2.8 percent) and in the West (2.9 percent).

(See table 5.)

Hires

The hires rate was little changed at 3.3 percent in January. Hires are any additions to the payroll during

the month. Over the month, the hires rate did not change significantly in any industry or region. As occurs

nearly every month, the seasonally adjusted hires rate was highest in January in accommodation and food

services (5.8 percent). (See table 2.)

From January 2007 to January 2008, the hires rate decreased for total nonfarm (to 2.8 percent) and

total private (3.1 percent) as well as in many industries, including durable goods manufacturing (2.1 percent);

retail trade (3.1 percent); transportation, warehousing, and utilities (1.9 percent); information (2.2 percent);

finance and insurance (1.9 percent); educational services (2.0 percent); and accommodation and food services (4.5 percent). Regionally, the hires rate fell over the past 12 months in 3 of the 4 regions—South

(3.2 percent), Midwest (2.7 percent), and West (2.7 percent). The hires rate did not increase significantly

in any industry or region over the year. (See table 6.)

Separations

The total separations, or turnover, rate remained essentially unchanged at 3.1 percent in January.

Separations are terminations of employment that occur at any time during the month. Over the month, the

separations rate decreased in accommodation and food services (to 5.0 percent); state and local government

(1.2 percent); and in the West region (3.2 percent). From January 2007 to January 2008, the total separations rate rose in wholesale trade (2.7 percent). The rate fell over the year for total nonfarm (3.1 percent);

total private (3.5 percent); construction (4.8 percent); nondurable goods manufacturing (2.5 percent); transportation, warehousing, and utilities (3.0 percent); educational services (1.3 percent); state and local government (0.9 percent); and in the South region (3.2 percent). (See tables 3 and 7.)

Total separations include quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (involuntary separations),

and other separations (including retirements). The quits rate, which can serve as a barometer of workers’

ability to change jobs, fell in January in accommodation and food services (to 3.8 percent). The quits rate

did not rise significantly in any industry or region over the month. As has occurred every month since the

series began in December 2000, the seasonally adjusted quits rate was highest in the accommodation and

food services industry. (See table 4.)

Over the year, the quits rate rose in real estate and rental and leasing (to 1.7 percent); the rate fell for

total nonfarm (1.6 percent); total private (1.8 percent); durable goods manufacturing (1.0 percent); nondurable goods manufacturing (1.4 percent); professional and business services (1.8 percent); and in the

Midwest region (1.5 percent). (See table 8.)

The other two components of total separations—layoffs and discharges, and other separations—are not

seasonally adjusted. For January, the layoffs and discharges rate (1.3 percent) and level (1.7 million) were

essentially unchanged from a year earlier. The layoffs and discharges rate in January 2008 was highest in

construction (3.5 percent). The other separations rate (0.2 percent) and level (289,000) were slightly lower

than a year ago. (See tables 9 and 10.)
4

Flows in the Labor Market

Several industries consistently have high rates of both hires and separations. These include construction;

retail trade; professional and business services; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and accommodation and

food services. In the 12 months ending in January 2008, these 5 industries produced 33.2 million hires and

31.7 million separations. Thus, these five industries accounted for 58 percent of total nonfarm hires and

58 percent of total nonfarm separations while comprising only 40 percent of total nonfarm employment.

(See tables 6 and 7.)

Annual Levels and Rates

This release contains the 2007 annual rates and levels for hires, total separations, quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. (See tables 11 through 20.) 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. There were 57.8 million

hires in 2007, equivalent to 42.0 percent of employment. Hires were down in 2007 after rising the preceding

three years. Total separations remained essentially flat for a second year with 54.6 million separations (39.7

percent of employment) in 2007. Quits followed the same pattern as hires, decreasing slightly in 2007 to

31.1 million after rising the preceding three years. Layoffs and discharges rose in 2007 to 19.7 million after

falling in 2006. Other separations fell to 3.9 million in 2007, in line with the years 2001 through 2005, after

rising sharply in 2006.

For More Information

For additional information, please read the Technical Note or visit the JOLTS Web site at http://www.

bls.gov/jlt/. Additional information about JOLTS also may be obtained by e-mailing Joltsinfo@bls.gov or by

calling (202) 691-5870.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover release for February 2008 is scheduled to be issued on Tuesday,

April 8.

______________________________
5

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 2006 forward, the

time period since the last benchmark was established. Additionally, the seasonally adjusted JOLTS data

series have been recalculated from December 2000 forward to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.

Table B through table G present revised total nonfarm data for January through December 2007. The

revised data incorporate the effect of applying the new benchmark level. The December 2007 revisions also

reflect the routine incorporation of additional sample receipts into the final December estimates. Table B (job

openings), table C (hires), table D (total separations), and table E (quits) present revised data on a seasonally

adjusted basis, incorporating the new seasonal adjustment factors as well as the new benchmark level. Table

F (layoffs and discharges) and table G (other separations) present revisions on a not seasonally adjusted

basis since those series are not adjusted.

LABSTAT, the BLS public database on the Internet, 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.

As

previously

published

As revised Difference

As

previously

published

As revised Difference

Levels (in thousands) Rates (percent)

Year and month

Table B. Revisions in job openings data, January-December 2007, seasonally adjusted

January ........................................... 4,222 4,307 85 3.0 3.0 0.0

February ......................................... 4,149 4,168 19 2.9 2.9 .0

March ............................................. 4,176 4,201 25 2.9 3.0 .1

April ................................................ 4,170 4,148 -22 2.9 2.9 .0

May ................................................. 4,095 4,133 38 2.9 2.9 .0

June ................................................. 4,280 4,267 -13 3.0 3.0 .0

July .................................................. 4,186 4,116 -70 2.9 2.9 .0

August ........................................... 4,168 4,162 -6 2.9 2.9 .0

September ...................................... 4,119 4,080 -39 2.9 2.9 .0

October........................................... 4,059 4,044 -15 2.8 2.8 .0

November....................................... 4,024 3,972 -52 2.8 2.8 .0

December ....................................... 4,039 3,974 -65 2.8 2.8 .0

2007
6

As

previously

published

As revised Difference

As

previously

published

As revised Difference

Levels (in thousands) Rates (percent)

Year and month

Table D. Revisions in total separations data, January-December 2007, seasonally adjusted

 2007

January ............................................... 4,602 4,638 36 3.4 3.4 0.0

February ............................................. 4,556 4,524 -32 3.3 3.3 .0

March ................................................. 4,741 4,663 -78 3.4 3.4 .0

April .................................................... 4,524 4,523 -1 3.3 3.3 .0

May ..................................................... 4,544 4,542 -2 3.3 3.3 .0

June ..................................................... 4,543 4,609 66 3.3 3.3 .0

July ...................................................... 4,507 4,562 55 3.3 3.3 .0

August ............................................... 4,446 4,502 56 3.2 3.3 .1

September .......................................... 4,430 4,456 26 3.2 3.2 .0

October............................................... 4,639 4,594 -45 3.4 3.3 -.1

November........................................... 4,599 4,640 41 3.3 3.4 .1

December ........................................... 4,345 4,408 63 3.1 3.2 .1

As

previously

published

As revised Difference

As

previously

published

As revised Difference

Levels (in thousands) Rates (percent)

Year and month

Table C. Revisions in hires data, January-December 2007, seasonally adjusted

January ............................................... 4,959 4,992 33 3.6 3.6 0.0

February ............................................. 4,815 4,800 -15 3.5 3.5 .0

March ................................................. 4,815 4,828 13 3.5 3.5 .0

April .................................................... 4,832 4,816 -16 3.5 3.5 .0

May ..................................................... 4,982 4,875 -107 3.6 3.5 -.1

June ..................................................... 4,741 4,843 102 3.4 3.5 .1

July ...................................................... 4,802 4,818 16 3.5 3.5 .0

August ............................................... 4,836 4,796 -40 3.5 3.5 .0

September .......................................... 4,714 4,700 -14 3.4 3.4 .0

October............................................... 4,870 4,914 44 3.5 3.6 .1

November........................................... 4,657 4,672 15 3.4 3.4 .0

December ........................................... 4,636 4,717 81 3.3 3.4 .1

2007
7

previously

published

As revised Difference

As

previously

published

As revised Difference

Rates (percent)

Year and month

Table F. Revisions in layoffs and discharges data, January-December 2007, not seasonally adjusted

Levels (in thousands)

2007

January ................................................... 1,755 1,751 -4 1.3 1.3 0.0

February ................................................. 1,275 1,276 1 .9 .9 .0

March ..................................................... 1,374 1,350 -24 1.0 1.0 .0

April ........................................................ 1,451 1,444 -7 1.1 1.1 .0

May ......................................................... 1,380 1,378 -2 1.0 1.0 .0

June ......................................................... 1,562 1,680 118 1.1 1.2 .1

July .......................................................... 1,471 1,525 54 1.1 1.1 .0

August ................................................... 1,819 1,884 65 1.3 1.4 .1

September .............................................. 1,924 1,981 57 1.4 1.4 .0

October................................................... 1,796 1,786 -10 1.3 1.3 .0

November............................................... 1,769 1,817 48 1.3 1.3 .0

December ............................................... 1,785 1,802 17 1.3 1.3 .0

As

previously

published

As revised Difference

As

previously

published

As revised Difference

Rates (percent)

Year and month

Table E. Revisions in quits data, January-December 2007, seasonally adjusted

Levels (in thousands)

January ................................................... 2,648 2,689 41 1.9 2.0 0.1

February ................................................. 2,705 2,666 -39 2.0 1.9 -.1

March ..................................................... 2,763 2,684 -79 2.0 2.0 .0

April ........................................................ 2,637 2,604 -33 1.9 1.9 .0

May ......................................................... 2,686 2,657 -29 1.9 1.9 .0

June ......................................................... 2,627 2,612 -15 1.9 1.9 .0

July .......................................................... 2,640 2,621 -19 1.9 1.9 .0

August ................................................... 2,539 2,553 14 1.8 1.9 .1

September .............................................. 2,450 2,396 -54 1.8 1.7 -.1

October................................................... 2,682 2,648 -34 1.9 1.9 .0

November............................................... 2,515 2,501 -14 1.8 1.8 .0

December ............................................... 2,461 2,494 33 1.8 1.8 .0

2007

As
8

As

previously

published

As revised Difference

As

previously

published

As revised Difference

Rates (percent)

Year and month

Table G. Revisions in other separations data, January-December 2007, not seasonally adjusted

Levels (in thousands)

2007

January ................................................ 396 362 -34 0.3 0.3 0.0

February .............................................. 276 286 10 .2 .2 .0

March .................................................. 305 313 8 .2 .2 .0

April ..................................................... 292 306 14 .2 .2 .0

May ...................................................... 313 310 -3 .2 .2 .0

June ...................................................... 419 387 -32 .3 .3 .0

July ....................................................... 365 380 15 .3 .3 .0

August ................................................ 347 346 -1 .3 .3 .0

September ........................................... 301 305 4 .2 .2 .0

October................................................ 251 246 -5 .2 .2 .0

November............................................ 285 285 0 .2 .2 .0

December ............................................ 324 342 18 .2 .2 .0
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

Each month, data are collected in a survey of business

establishments for total employment, job openings, hires, quits,

layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Data collection

methods include computer-assisted telephone interviewing,

touchtone data entry, fax, 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 2007 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. Full-time, 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 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. Hires are the total number of additions to the payroll

occurring at any time during the reference month, including

both new and rehired employees, full-time 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

will be 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.

Sample methodology

The JOLTS sample design is a random sample of 16,000

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 eight million establishments

compiled as part of the operations of the Quarterly Census of

Employment and Wages, or 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 size class. Large firms fall into the sample

with virtual certainty. JOLTS total employment estimates are

controlled to the 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. Rates are then computed from the adjusted levels.

Using 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 with 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.

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.

Prior to the January 2007 benchmark release in March 2007,

seasonal adjustment of the JOLTS series was conducted using

the stable seasonal filter option since there were not enough

data observations available for the standard use of moving

averages as seasonal filters. Although the seasonal

adjustment of the JOLTS series is conducted with fewer data

observations than is customary, the number of observations is

now above the minimum required by X-12 ARIMA to use the

normal seasonal filters. Therefore, the standard use of moving

averages as seasonal filters is now in place for JOLTS seasonal

adjustment. JOLTS seasonal adjustment now 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.

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.

JOLTS hires and separations estimates cannot be used to

exactly explain net changes in nonfarm payroll employment.

Some reasons why it is problematic to compare changes in

payroll employment with JOLTS hires and separations,

especially on a monthly basis, are: 1) the reference period for

payroll employment is the pay period including the 12th of the

month, while the reference period for hires and separations is

the calendar month; and 2) payroll employment can vary from

month to month simply because part-time and on-call workers

may not always work during the pay period that includes the

12th of the month. Additionally, research has found that some

reporters systematically underreport separations relative to

hires due to a number of factors, including the nature of their

payroll systems and practices. The shortfall appears to be

about 2 percent or less over a 12-month period.

Other information

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200;

TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339.
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.

2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008p 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008p

Total 4........................................................................................................... 4,307 4,162 4,080 4,044 3,972 3,974 3,925 3.0 2.9 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8

INDUSTRY

Total private 4............................................................................................ 3,846 3,717 3,637 3,597 3,520 3,526 3,474 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.9

Construction........................................................................ 191 144 128 150 138 140 125 2.4 1.9 1.7 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.7

Manufacturing................................................................ 344 324 314 303 303 305 296 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities 5.............................. 763 735 679 644 648 667 656 2.8 2.7 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4

Retail trade................................................................................. 424 377 357 321 344 358 353 2.7 2.4 2.3 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.2

Professional and business services......................... 707 689 673 758 685 706 731 3.8 3.7 3.6 4.0 3.7 3.7 3.9

Education and health services................................................. 714 700 712 704 713 698 692 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.6

Leisure and hospitality 6...................................................... 566 578 663 614 591 574 526 4.1 4.1 4.7 4.3 4.2 4.0 3.7

Accommodation and food services......................... 491 509 595 543 518 514 484 4.1 4.2 4.9 4.5 4.3 4.2 4.0

Government 7......................................................................................... 461 444 443 448 454 446 450 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0

State and local government.................................................................................... 428 402 403 408 404 398 406 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0

REGION 8

Northeast......................................................................... 701 695 594 657 629 644 667 2.7 2.6 2.3 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.5

South............................................................................................... 1,696 1,675 1,641 1,629 1,620 1,574 1,527 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.0

Midwest......................................................................................... 808 773 787 747 755 779 746 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3

West...................................................................................... 1,073 1,035 1,054 1,014 957 988 976 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.0 3.1 3.1

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. Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and 

 

4

 Includes natural resources and mining, 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 arts, entertainment, and recreation, 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 and the JOLTS 

seasonal adjustment factors.

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.

2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008p 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008p

Total 4........................................................................................................... 4,992 4,796 4,700 4,914 4,672 4,717 4,545 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.6 3.4 3.4 3.3

INDUSTRY

Total private 4............................................................................................ 4,630 4,371 4,325 4,552 4,305 4,314 4,109 4.0 3.8 3.7 3.9 3.7 3.7 3.5

Construction........................................................................ 305 367 336 331 351 335 298 4.0 4.8 4.4 4.4 4.7 4.5 4.0

Manufacturing................................................................ 371 350 352 396 353 350 332 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.9 2.6 2.5 2.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities 5.............................. 1,072 924 977 1,018 946 970 927 4.0 3.5 3.7 3.8 3.5 3.6 3.5

Retail trade................................................................................. 793 677 699 699 655 693 678 5.1 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.2 4.5 4.4

Professional and business services......................... 907 776 799 855 902 851 877 5.1 4.3 4.4 4.7 5.0 4.7 4.8

Education and health services................................................. 514 504 453 517 527 460 500 2.8 2.7 2.5 2.8 2.8 2.5 2.7

Leisure and hospitality 6...................................................... 951 898 888 924 846 880 787 7.2 6.7 6.6 6.8 6.2 6.4 5.8

Accommodation and food services......................... 841 753 732 803 708 713 680 7.4 6.5 6.3 6.9 6.1 6.1 5.8

Government 7......................................................................................... 386 393 359 373 349 390 381 1.7 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.7

State and local government.................................................................................... 318 319 287 315 287 326 311 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.6

REGION 8

Northeast......................................................................... 797 753 689 653 761 770 770 3.1 2.9 2.7 2.5 3.0 3.0 3.0

South............................................................................................... 1,933 1,835 1,844 1,924 1,828 1,802 1,756 3.9 3.7 3.7 3.9 3.7 3.6 3.5

Midwest......................................................................................... 1,183 1,053 1,093 1,097 1,027 1,045 1,018 3.8 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.2

West...................................................................................... 1,144 1,157 1,048 1,216 1,018 1,067 982 3.7 3.7 3.4 3.9 3.3 3.4 3.2

 1 Hires are the number of hires during the entire month. 5

 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, 

 2 The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of not shown separately.

total employment. 6

 Includes arts, entertainment, and recreation, not shown separately.

3

 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal 7 Includes federal government, not shown separately.

adjustment of the various series. 8

 See footnote 8, table 1. 

4

 Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and p = preliminary.

other services, not shown separately. NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the 

Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the JOLTS 

seasonal adjustment factors.

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.

2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008p 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008p

Total 4........................................................................................................... 4,638 4,502 4,456 4,594 4,640 4,408 4,311 3.4 3.3 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.1

INDUSTRY

Total private 4............................................................................................ 4,315 4,166 4,168 4,314 4,367 4,107 4,030 3.8 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.5 3.5

Construction........................................................................ 385 365 355 355 322 331 306 5.0 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.3 4.4 4.1

Manufacturing................................................................ 415 377 374 393 400 325 353 3.0 2.7 2.7 2.9 2.9 2.4 2.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities 5.............................. 1,028 957 950 1,010 1,065 981 983 3.9 3.6 3.6 3.8 4.0 3.7 3.7

Retail trade................................................................................. 706 674 683 702 764 686 668 4.6 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.9 4.4 4.3

Professional and business services......................... 861 756 824 935 878 814 785 4.8 4.2 4.6 5.2 4.9 4.5 4.3

Education and health services................................................. 409 432 414 434 423 417 437 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.3

Leisure and hospitality 6...................................................... 799 797 730 761 799 803 738 6.0 5.9 5.4 5.6 5.9 5.9 5.4

Accommodation and food services......................... 634 697 645 651 667 697 582 5.6 6.0 5.6 5.6 5.7 6.0 5.0

Government 7......................................................................................... 321 326 290 286 286 295 283 1.5 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3

State and local government.................................................................................... 261 259 219 238 240 256 230 1.3 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.2

REGION 8

Northeast......................................................................... 700 683 635 652 860 635 663 2.7 2.7 2.5 2.5 3.3 2.5 2.6

South............................................................................................... 1,816 1,720 1,786 1,764 1,709 1,712 1,661 3.7 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.3

Midwest......................................................................................... 1,011 1,006 983 994 974 980 992 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.1

West...................................................................................... 1,086 1,076 1,038 1,186 1,117 1,117 979 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.8 3.6 3.6 3.2

 1 Total separations are the number of total separations during the entire and other services, not shown separately.

month. 5

 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, 

 2 The total separations rate is the number of total separations during the not shown separately.

entire month as a percent of total employment. 6

 Includes arts, entertainment, and recreation, not shown separately.

3

 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent 7 Includes federal government, not shown separately.

seasonal adjustment of the various series. 8

 See footnote 8, table 1. 

4

 Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, p = preliminary.

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

Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the JOLTS 

seasonal adjustment factors.

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.

2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008p 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008p

Total 4........................................................................................................... 2,689 2,553 2,396 2,648 2,501 2,494 2,454 2.0 1.9 1.7 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.8

INDUSTRY

Total private 4............................................................................................ 2,537 2,407 2,253 2,508 2,361 2,358 2,321 2.2 2.1 1.9 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.0

Construction........................................................................ 151 141 132 137 116 119 107 2.0 1.9 1.7 1.8 1.5 1.6 1.4

Manufacturing................................................................ 237 199 183 199 187 182 181 1.7 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities 5.............................. 605 556 549 588 572 590 633 2.3 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.4

Retail trade................................................................................. 438 403 412 432 433 445 478 2.8 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.1

Professional and business services......................... 499 394 405 479 398 367 346 2.8 2.2 2.2 2.7 2.2 2.0 1.9

Education and health services................................................. 264 273 253 264 269 258 278 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.5

Leisure and hospitality 6...................................................... 520 542 440 545 557 561 517 3.9 4.0 3.2 4.0 4.1 4.1 3.8

Accommodation and food services......................... 465 496 367 503 516 513 446 4.1 4.3 3.2 4.3 4.4 4.4 3.8

Government 7......................................................................................... 153 145 146 144 140 137 134 .7 .7 .7 .6 .6 .6 .6

State and local government.................................................................................... 130 125 123 128 125 120 114 .7 .6 .6 .7 .6 .6 .6

REGION 8

Northeast......................................................................... 332 331 306 338 367 312 351 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.2 1.4

South............................................................................................... 1,119 1,069 1,003 1,088 996 1,008 1,035 2.3 2.2 2.0 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.1

Midwest......................................................................................... 606 535 524 524 529 521 505 1.9 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.6

West...................................................................................... 627 618 575 691 607 632 561 2.0 2.0 1.9 2.2 2.0 2.0 1.8

 1 Quits are the number of quits during the entire month. 5

 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, 

 2 The quits rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a not shown separately.

percent of total employment. 6

 Includes arts, entertainment, and recreation, not shown separately.

3

 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent 7 Includes federal government, not shown separately.

seasonal adjustment of the various series. 8

 See footnote 8, table 1. 

4

 Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, p = preliminary.

and other services, not shown separately. NOTE: Data have been revised to incorporate the annual updates to the 

Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the JOLTS 

seasonal adjustment factors.

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.

2007 2007 2008p 2007 2007 2008p

Total........................................................................................................... 3,940 3,529 3,597 2.8 2.5 2.6

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 3,517 3,120 3,184 3.0 2.6 2.7

Natural resources and mining................................................... 11 13 13 1.5 1.8 1.8

Construction...................................................................................................... 150 102 99 2.0 1.4 1.4

Manufacturing..................................................................................... 332 274 286 2.3 1.9 2.1

Durable goods.............................................................................. 207 152 157 2.3 1.7 1.8

Nondurable goods....................................................................... 125 122 129 2.4 2.4 2.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................... 676 563 576 2.5 2.0 2.1

Wholesale trade........................................................................... 165 152 164 2.7 2.4 2.7

Retail trade................................................................................. 373 285 305 2.4 1.7 1.9

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 138 125 106 2.7 2.4 2.1

Information...................................................................................... 140 68 63 4.5 2.2 2.1

Financial activities........................................................................... 220 198 238 2.6 2.3 2.8

Finance and insurance..................................................................................... 186 155 184 2.9 2.5 2.9

Real estate and rental and leasing................................... 34 43 54 1.6 2.0 2.5

Professional and business services........................................ 686 653 713 3.8 3.5 3.9

Education and health services................................................................. 673 670 651 3.6 3.4 3.4

Educational services................................................................ 54 57 50 1.9 1.8 1.7

Health care and social assistance.................................. 618 613 601 3.9 3.8 3.7

Leisure and hospitality.................................................................. 494 465 459 3.7 3.4 3.4

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 66 44 39 3.7 2.3 2.1

Accommodation and food services............................... 428 421 420 3.8 3.5 3.6

Other services................................................................................. 135 115 86 2.4 2.0 1.6

Government......................................................................................... 424 409 413 1.9 1.8 1.8

Federal................................................................................................ 30 45 40 1.1 1.6 1.4

State and local.................................................................................... 393 364 373 2.0 1.8 1.9

REGION 3

Northeast......................................................................................... 638 554 608 2.5 2.1 2.3

South............................................................................................... 1,567 1,407 1,404 3.1 2.7 2.8

Midwest................................................................................................. 736 683 680 2.3 2.1 2.1

West....................................................................................................... 1,000 884 905 3.2 2.8 2.9

 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. 

Levels (in thousands) Rates

Industry and region
Table 6. Hires levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

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

2007 2007 2008p 2007 2007 2008p

Total........................................................................................................... 4,301 3,462 3,850 3.2 2.5 2.8

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 3,956 3,229 3,510 3.5 2.8 3.1

Natural resources and mining................................................... 21 17 20 3.1 2.3 2.7

Construction...................................................................................................... 221 208 212 3.0 2.8 3.0

Manufacturing..................................................................................... 360 232 323 2.6 1.7 2.4

Durable goods.............................................................................. 226 130 185 2.6 1.5 2.1

Nondurable goods....................................................................... 134 101 138 2.6 2.0 2.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................... 822 785 714 3.1 2.9 2.7

Wholesale trade........................................................................... 133 107 138 2.2 1.7 2.3

Retail trade................................................................................. 554 564 482 3.6 3.5 3.1

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 135 115 94 2.7 2.2 1.9

Information...................................................................................... 93 38 66 3.1 1.2 2.2

Financial activities........................................................................... 221 145 158 2.7 1.8 1.9

Finance and insurance..................................................................................... 165 99 118 2.7 1.6 1.9

Real estate and rental and leasing................................... 56 46 40 2.6 2.2 1.9

Professional and business services........................................ 882 663 851 5.1 3.6 4.8

Education and health services................................................................. 476 335 464 2.6 1.8 2.5

Educational services................................................................ 74 37 60 2.6 1.2 2.0

Health care and social assistance.................................. 402 298 404 2.7 1.9 2.6

Leisure and hospitality.................................................................. 725 680 599 5.7 5.1 4.6

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 95 147 90 5.5 7.9 5.1

Accommodation and food services............................... 630 532 509 5.7 4.6 4.5

Other services................................................................................. 134 128 103 2.5 2.3 1.9

Government......................................................................................... 345 233 340 1.6 1.0 1.5

Federal................................................................................................ 58 50 60 2.1 1.8 2.2

State and local.................................................................................... 287 183 280 1.5 .9 1.4

REGION 3

Northeast......................................................................................... 613 575 600 2.4 2.2 2.4

South............................................................................................... 1,758 1,317 1,587 3.6 2.6 3.2

Midwest................................................................................................. 972 726 840 3.1 2.3 2.7

West....................................................................................................... 957 844 823 3.2 2.7 2.7

 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. 

Levels (in thousands) Rates

Industry and region
Table 7. Total separations levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

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

2007 2007 2008p 2007 2007 2008p

Total........................................................................................................... 4,474 4,220 4,154 3.3 3.0 3.1

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 4,221 3,977 3,933 3.7 3.4 3.5

Natural resources and mining................................................... 19 26 25 2.8 3.5 3.5

Construction...................................................................................................... 429 363 337 5.9 4.9 4.8

Manufacturing..................................................................................... 404 280 346 2.9 2.0 2.5

Durable goods.............................................................................. 245 149 224 2.8 1.7 2.6

Nondurable goods....................................................................... 159 131 122 3.1 2.6 2.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................... 1,106 1,093 1,057 4.2 4.0 4.0

Wholesale trade........................................................................... 119 196 162 2.0 3.2 2.7

Retail trade................................................................................. 791 786 746 5.2 4.9 4.8

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 196 112 150 3.9 2.2 3.0

Information...................................................................................... 76 49 64 2.5 1.6 2.1

Financial activities........................................................................... 159 202 198 1.9 2.4 2.4

Finance and insurance..................................................................................... 114 117 133 1.9 1.9 2.2

Real estate and rental and leasing................................... 45 85 65 2.1 4.0 3.1

Professional and business services........................................ 831 797 760 4.8 4.4 4.3

Education and health services................................................................. 381 346 401 2.1 1.8 2.2

Educational services................................................................ 58 41 38 2.0 1.3 1.3

Health care and social assistance.................................. 323 304 363 2.1 1.9 2.3

Leisure and hospitality.................................................................. 671 683 618 5.3 5.1 4.7

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 105 78 101 6.0 4.2 5.7

Accommodation and food services............................... 566 605 517 5.2 5.3 4.6

Other services................................................................................. 145 140 126 2.7 2.5 2.3

Government......................................................................................... 253 243 221 1.1 1.1 1.0

Federal................................................................................................ 53 43 46 2.0 1.6 1.7

State and local.................................................................................... 200 201 175 1.0 1.0 .9

REGION 3

Northeast......................................................................................... 690 620 655 2.7 2.4 2.6

South............................................................................................... 1,709 1,557 1,550 3.5 3.1 3.2

Midwest................................................................................................. 1,026 974 1,009 3.3 3.1 3.2

West....................................................................................................... 1,048 1,068 940 3.5 3.4 3.1

 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. 

Levels (in thousands) Rates

Industry and region
Table 8. Quits levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

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

2007 2007 2008p 2007 2007 2008p

Total........................................................................................................... 2,361 2,075 2,154 1.7 1.5 1.6

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 2,241 1,977 2,049 2.0 1.7 1.8

Natural resources and mining................................................... 7 12 12 1.0 1.6 1.6

Construction...................................................................................................... 116 93 81 1.6 1.3 1.2

Manufacturing..................................................................................... 204 131 157 1.5 .9 1.1

Durable goods.............................................................................. 121 68 89 1.4 .8 1.0

Nondurable goods....................................................................... 82 62 68 1.6 1.2 1.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................... 564 541 594 2.1 2.0 2.2

Wholesale trade........................................................................... 76 73 78 1.3 1.2 1.3

Retail trade................................................................................. 410 414 451 2.7 2.6 2.9

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 78 54 65 1.6 1.1 1.3

Information...................................................................................... 49 28 38 1.6 .9 1.3

Financial activities........................................................................... 98 92 123 1.2 1.1 1.5

Finance and insurance..................................................................................... 82 46 87 1.3 .8 1.4

Real estate and rental and leasing................................... 16 46 36 .8 2.1 1.7

Professional and business services........................................ 451 310 314 2.6 1.7 1.8

Education and health services................................................................. 235 215 247 1.3 1.1 1.3

Educational services................................................................ 27 20 23 1.0 .7 .8

Health care and social assistance.................................. 208 195 225 1.4 1.2 1.4

Leisure and hospitality.................................................................. 427 469 422 3.4 3.5 3.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 29 40 41 1.7 2.1 2.3

Accommodation and food services............................... 398 429 380 3.6 3.7 3.4

Other services................................................................................. 90 86 62 1.7 1.6 1.1

Government......................................................................................... 120 98 104 .5 .4 .5

Federal................................................................................................ 17 10 14 .6 .4 .5

State and local.................................................................................... 103 88 91 .5 .4 .5

REGION 3

Northeast......................................................................................... 282 248 298 1.1 1.0 1.2

South............................................................................................... 990 839 914 2.0 1.7 1.9

Midwest................................................................................................. 541 436 452 1.8 1.4 1.5

West....................................................................................................... 547 552 489 1.8 1.8 1.6

 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. 

Levels (in thousands) Rates

Industry and region
Table 9. Layoffs and discharges levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

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

2007 2007 2008p 2007 2007 2008p

Total........................................................................................................... 1,751 1,802 1,711 1.3 1.3 1.3

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 1,679 1,713 1,646 1.5 1.5 1.4

Natural resources and mining................................................... 8 11 9 1.2 1.4 1.3

Construction...................................................................................................... 285 246 244 3.9 3.3 3.5

Manufacturing..................................................................................... 167 129 157 1.2 .9 1.2

Durable goods.............................................................................. 98 69 112 1.1 .8 1.3

Nondurable goods....................................................................... 69 60 46 1.4 1.2 .9

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................... 449 451 398 1.7 1.7 1.5

Wholesale trade........................................................................... 36 98 67 .6 1.6 1.1

Retail trade................................................................................. 316 312 258 2.1 1.9 1.7

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 97 41 74 1.9 .8 1.5

Information...................................................................................... 22 15 24 .7 .5 .8

Financial activities........................................................................... 49 88 65 .6 1.1 .8

Finance and insurance..................................................................................... 25 51 39 .4 .8 .6

Real estate and rental and leasing................................... 24 37 26 1.1 1.7 1.2

Professional and business services........................................ 325 438 394 1.9 2.4 2.2

Education and health services................................................................. 105 94 125 .6 .5 .7

Educational services................................................................ 29 19 13 1.0 .6 .4

Health care and social assistance.................................. 77 76 112 .5 .5 .7

Leisure and hospitality.................................................................. 222 193 167 1.8 1.4 1.3

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................................... 72 35 58 4.1 1.9 3.2

Accommodation and food services............................... 150 157 109 1.4 1.4 1.0

Other services................................................................................. 47 49 62 .9 .9 1.1

Government......................................................................................... 72 89 65 .3 .4 .3

Federal................................................................................................ 14 22 15 .5 .8 .5

State and local.................................................................................... 58 67 50 .3 .3 .3

REGION 3

Northeast......................................................................................... 349 295 304 1.4 1.1 1.2

South............................................................................................... 587 621 555 1.2 1.2 1.1

Midwest................................................................................................. 409 461 466 1.3 1.5 1.5

West....................................................................................................... 406 426 387 1.3 1.4 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 See footnote 8, table 1.

 p = preliminary.

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

Levels (in thousands) Rates

Industry and region
Table 10. Other separations levels 1

 and rates 2 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

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

2007 2007 2008p 2007 2007 2008p

Total........................................................................................................... 362 342 289 0.3 0.2 0.2

INDUSTRY

Total private............................................................................................ 301 287 237 .3 .2 .2

Natural resources and mining................................................... 4 4 5 .6 .5 .6

Construction...................................................................................................... 28 23 12 .4 .3 .2

Manufacturing..................................................................................... 34 21 32 .2 .1 .2

Durable goods.............................................................................. 25 12 24 .3 .1 .3

Nondurable goods....................................................................... 8 9 9 .2 .2 .2

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................... 93 101 65 .4 .4 .2

Wholesale trade........................................................................... 7 25 17 .1 .4 .3

Retail trade................................................................................. 65 60 37 .4 .4 .2

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...................... 21 17 11 .4 .3 .2

Information...................................................................................... 4 6 2 .1 .2 .1

Financial activities........................................................................... 12 21 10 .1 .3 .1

Finance and insurance..................................................................................... 7 20 7 .1 .3 .1

Real estate and rental and leasing................................... 5 2 3 .2 .1 .2

Professional and business services........................................ 55 49 52 .3 .3 .3

Education and health services................................................................. 40 36 29 .2 .2 .2

Educational services................................................................ 2 2 3 .1 .1 .1

Health care and social assistance.................................. 38 34 26 .3 .2 .2

Leisure and hospitality.................................................................. 22 21 29 .2 .2 .2

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

Accommodation and food services............................... 18 19 27 .2 .2 .2

Other services................................................................................. 8 5 2 .2 .1 (

4

)

Government......................................................................................... 61 56 52 .3 .2 .2

Federal................................................................................................ 22 10 18 .8 .4 .7

State and local.................................................................................... 39 45 34 .2 .2 .2

REGION 3

Northeast......................................................................................... 59 77 53 .2 .3 .2

South............................................................................................... 132 98 81 .3 .2 .2

Midwest................................................................................................. 76 77 92 .2 .2 .3

West....................................................................................................... 95 90 64 .3 .3 .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.

 4 Data round to zero.

 p = preliminary.

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

Levels (in thousands) Rates

Industry and region
Table 11. Annual hires levels 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Total..................................................................... 54,578 49,718 49,294 54,721 57,491 59,158 57,778

INDUSTRY

Total private......................................................... 50,401 45,673 45,620 50,858 53,416 54,612 53,158

Natural resources and mining.............................. 221 219 216 229 257 242 287

Construction...................................................... 4,501 4,421 4,580 4,677 5,150 4,530 4,151

Manufacturing................................................... 4,130 4,062 3,861 4,316 4,112 4,282 4,274

Durable goods................................................ 2,239 2,356 2,389 2,718 2,592 2,545 2,437

Nondurable goods.......................................... 1,890 1,704 1,470 1,598 1,521 1,742 1,836

Trade, transportation, and utilities........................ 11,984 10,517 10,389 11,988 12,289 12,669 11,843

Wholesale trade............................................. 1,711 1,556 1,481 1,702 1,720 1,618 1,955

Retail trade................................................... 8,621 7,557 7,423 8,392 8,530 8,964 8,219

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities............ 1,651 1,406 1,489 1,893 2,039 2,087 1,669

Information...................................................... 967 799 748 792 881 965 807

Financial activities............................................... 2,207 2,002 2,031 2,292 2,281 2,505 2,634

Finance and insurance.................................... 1,444 1,253 1,209 1,354 1,436 1,597 1,804

Real estate and rental and leasing..................... 763 749 820 939 845 909 831

Professional and business services........................ 8,521 7,758 7,842 9,416 10,554 10,989 10,379

Education and health services.............................. 5,484 5,133 5,164 5,253 5,619 5,888 6,009

Educational services....................................... 686 587 726 713 721 842 882

Health care and social assistance..................... 4,798 4,544 4,439 4,541 4,898 5,042 5,127

Leisure and hospitality....................................... 10,397 8,868 8,628 9,670 9,893 10,388 10,661

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................... 1,543 1,383 1,349 1,495 1,503 1,545 1,631

Accommodation and food services................. 8,854 7,484 7,281 8,173 8,391 8,843 9,030

Other services................................................... 1,992 1,899 2,160 2,223 2,384 2,152 2,114

Government......................................................... 4,177 4,043 3,674 3,863 4,075 4,546 4,621

Federal............................................................ 513 617 476 464 492 680 873

State and local................................................. 3,667 3,426 3,197 3,399 3,586 3,866 3,749

REGION 2

Northeast......................................................... 9,102 7,900 8,687 9,745 9,331 9,102 8,680

South............................................................... 20,335 19,079 18,705 20,998 22,069 23,327 22,616

Midwest............................................................ 13,439 11,561 10,666 11,931 12,403 12,589 12,955

West............................................................... 11,703 11,179 11,236 12,048 13,689 14,140 13,527

 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. 

Industry and region 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Table 12. Annual hires rates 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Total..................................................................... 41.4 38.1 37.9 41.6 43.0 43.5 42.0

INDUSTRY

Total private......................................................... 45.5 42.0 42.1 46.3 47.7 47.9 46.1

Natural resources and mining.............................. 36.5 37.6 37.8 38.7 40.9 35.4 39.7

Construction...................................................... 65.9 65.8 68.0 67.0 70.2 58.9 54.5

Manufacturing................................................... 25.1 26.6 26.6 30.2 28.9 30.3 30.8

Durable goods................................................ 21.7 24.8 26.7 30.5 28.9 28.3 27.6

Nondurable goods.......................................... 30.9 29.5 26.5 29.6 28.9 33.7 36.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities........................ 46.1 41.2 41.1 47.0 47.3 48.2 44.5

Wholesale trade............................................. 29.6 27.5 26.4 30.1 29.8 27.4 32.4

Retail trade................................................... 56.6 50.3 49.8 55.7 55.8 58.4 53.1

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities............ 33.2 29.2 31.3 39.3 41.5 41.6 32.8

Information...................................................... 26.6 23.5 23.5 25.4 28.8 31.8 26.6

Financial activities............................................... 28.3 25.5 25.5 28.5 28.0 30.1 31.7

Finance and insurance.................................... 25.0 21.5 20.4 22.8 23.8 25.9 29.3

Real estate and rental and leasing..................... 37.5 36.9 39.9 45.1 39.7 41.9 38.4

Professional and business services........................ 51.7 48.6 49.1 57.4 62.3 62.6 57.8

Education and health services.............................. 35.1 31.7 31.1 31.0 32.3 33.0 32.8

Educational services....................................... 27.3 22.2 26.9 25.8 25.4 29.0 29.9

Health care and social assistance..................... 36.5 33.5 32.0 32.0 33.7 33.8 33.3

Leisure and hospitality....................................... 86.4 74.0 70.9 77.4 77.2 79.2 79.1

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................... 84.6 77.6 74.4 80.8 79.4 80.1 82.5

Accommodation and food services................. 86.7 73.4 70.3 76.8 76.8 79.1 78.5

Other services................................................... 37.9 35.3 40.0 41.1 44.2 39.6 38.5

Government......................................................... 19.8 18.8 17.0 17.9 18.7 20.7 20.8

Federal............................................................ 18.6 22.3 17.2 17.0 18.0 24.9 32.0

State and local................................................. 20.0 18.3 17.0 18.0 18.8 20.1 19.2

REGION 2

Northeast......................................................... 36.2 31.7 34.9 39.2 37.3 35.9 33.9

South............................................................... 43.7 41.4 40.7 44.9 46.1 47.6 45.6

Midwest............................................................ 42.9 37.4 34.7 38.8 40.1 40.4 41.2

West............................................................... 40.7 39.3 39.6 41.5 45.9 46.3 43.7

 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. 

Industry and region 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Table 13. Annual total separations levels 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Total..................................................................... 54,556 49,597 48,294 51,779 54,609 55,199 54,641

INDUSTRY

Total private......................................................... 51,406 46,454 45,136 48,479 51,286 51,492 50,925

Natural resources and mining.............................. 233 229 218 216 206 219 275

Construction...................................................... 4,794 4,531 4,555 4,638 4,847 4,657 4,285

Manufacturing................................................... 6,177 5,121 4,350 4,255 4,469 4,442 4,612

Durable goods................................................ 3,800 3,148 2,709 2,661 2,829 2,546 2,734

Nondurable goods.......................................... 2,378 1,972 1,641 1,591 1,640 1,894 1,880

Trade, transportation, and utilities........................ 12,324 11,108 10,682 11,704 11,983 12,031 11,859

Wholesale trade............................................. 1,820 1,777 1,647 1,720 1,602 1,732 1,885

Retail trade................................................... 8,725 7,750 7,378 8,177 8,424 8,559 8,301

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities............ 1,778 1,584 1,657 1,810 1,955 1,739 1,672

Information...................................................... 1,181 960 796 927 893 945 824

Financial activities............................................... 2,147 2,099 1,899 2,161 2,134 2,545 2,603

Finance and insurance.................................... 1,369 1,330 1,162 1,339 1,367 1,613 1,746

Real estate and rental and leasing..................... 776 772 738 824 769 931 858

Professional and business services........................ 7,858 7,078 7,362 8,568 9,816 9,824 9,709

Education and health services.............................. 4,779 4,570 4,500 4,710 4,969 5,078 5,131

Educational services....................................... 489 566 627 594 638 677 714

Health care and social assistance..................... 4,292 4,001 3,874 4,118 4,331 4,403 4,417

Leisure and hospitality....................................... 9,939 8,737 8,589 9,012 9,674 9,762 9,643

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................... 1,370 1,370 1,334 1,493 1,409 1,386 1,419

Accommodation and food services................. 8,570 7,366 7,257 7,520 8,266 8,379 8,223

Other services................................................... 1,977 2,024 2,185 2,285 2,300 1,988 1,988

Government......................................................... 3,150 3,144 3,158 3,298 3,325 3,707 3,715

Federal............................................................ 403 409 468 414 446 656 739

State and local................................................. 2,745 2,734 2,688 2,888 2,880 3,051 2,978

REGION 2

Northeast......................................................... 9,053 8,136 8,283 9,169 8,880 8,483 8,076

South............................................................... 19,710 18,752 18,579 19,356 20,928 21,661 21,289

Midwest............................................................ 13,856 11,307 10,596 11,378 12,032 12,103 11,974

West............................................................... 11,936 11,403 10,836 11,878 12,773 12,953 13,298

 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. 

Industry and region 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Table 14. Annual total separations rates 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Total..................................................................... 41.4 38.1 37.1 39.4 40.8 40.6 39.7

INDUSTRY

Total private......................................................... 46.4 42.7 41.6 44.1 45.8 45.1 44.1

Natural resources and mining.............................. 38.4 39.3 38.1 36.5 32.8 32.0 38.0

Construction...................................................... 70.2 67.5 67.6 66.5 66.1 60.6 56.3

Manufacturing................................................... 37.6 33.6 30.0 29.7 31.4 31.4 33.2

Durable goods................................................ 36.8 33.2 30.2 29.8 31.6 28.3 31.0

Nondurable goods.......................................... 38.9 34.1 29.6 29.5 31.1 36.6 37.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities........................ 47.4 43.6 42.2 45.8 46.2 45.8 44.6

Wholesale trade............................................. 31.5 31.4 29.4 30.4 27.8 29.3 31.3

Retail trade................................................... 57.3 51.6 49.5 54.3 55.1 55.7 53.6

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities............ 35.8 32.9 34.8 37.6 39.8 34.7 32.9

Information...................................................... 32.5 28.3 25.0 29.7 29.2 31.1 27.2

Financial activities............................................... 27.5 26.7 23.8 26.9 26.2 30.6 31.3

Finance and insurance.................................... 23.7 22.9 19.6 22.5 22.7 26.2 28.4

Real estate and rental and leasing..................... 38.1 38.0 35.9 39.6 36.1 42.9 39.7

Professional and business services........................ 47.7 44.3 46.0 52.3 57.9 55.9 54.0

Education and health services.............................. 30.5 28.2 27.1 27.8 28.6 28.5 28.0

Educational services....................................... 19.5 21.4 23.3 21.5 22.5 23.3 24.2

Health care and social assistance..................... 32.7 29.5 27.9 29.0 29.8 29.5 28.7

Leisure and hospitality....................................... 82.6 72.9 70.6 72.1 75.5 74.5 71.6

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................... 75.1 76.8 73.6 80.7 74.5 71.9 71.7

Accommodation and food services................. 83.9 72.2 70.0 70.7 75.7 74.9 71.5

Other services................................................... 37.6 37.7 40.5 42.2 42.6 36.6 36.2

Government......................................................... 14.9 14.6 14.6 15.3 15.2 16.9 16.7

Federal............................................................ 14.6 14.8 17.0 15.2 16.3 24.0 27.1

State and local................................................. 15.0 14.6 14.3 15.3 15.1 15.9 15.3

REGION 2

Northeast......................................................... 36.0 32.6 33.3 36.9 35.5 33.5 31.5

South............................................................... 42.3 40.7 40.4 41.3 43.7 44.2 42.9

Midwest............................................................ 44.2 36.6 34.4 37.0 38.9 38.8 38.1

West............................................................... 41.5 40.1 38.2 41.0 42.8 42.4 43.0

 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. 

Industry and region 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Table 15. Annual quits levels 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Total..................................................................... 30,817 26,833 24,881 27,939 30,825 32,179 31,096

INDUSTRY

Total private......................................................... 29,127 25,282 23,452 26,375 29,229 30,352 29,334

Natural resources and mining.............................. 103 87 83 98 110 124 161

Construction...................................................... 1,869 1,657 1,563 1,766 2,098 1,992 1,615

Manufacturing................................................... 2,463 2,142 1,870 2,140 2,288 2,364 2,385

Durable goods................................................ 1,423 1,271 1,161 1,322 1,421 1,351 1,343

Nondurable goods.......................................... 1,042 870 712 815 868 1,013 1,038

Trade, transportation, and utilities........................ 7,499 6,401 5,738 6,581 7,117 7,325 7,021

Wholesale trade............................................. 979 918 845 881 873 969 1,018

Retail trade................................................... 5,591 4,730 4,229 4,927 5,340 5,395 5,167

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities............ 929 756 664 772 904 962 838

Information...................................................... 682 496 440 499 581 669 500

Financial activities............................................... 1,259 1,177 1,103 1,315 1,262 1,534 1,538

Finance and insurance.................................... 830 767 666 814 850 1,023 1,101

Real estate and rental and leasing..................... 428 410 436 499 412 509 436

Professional and business services........................ 4,293 3,679 3,453 4,085 4,698 5,273 5,100

Education and health services.............................. 3,184 2,835 2,723 2,933 3,219 3,294 3,232

Educational services....................................... 282 312 293 304 354 364 340

Health care and social assistance..................... 2,905 2,526 2,427 2,630 2,865 2,932 2,890

Leisure and hospitality....................................... 6,647 5,605 5,309 5,554 6,396 6,673 6,561

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................... 609 619 537 505 596 559 571

Accommodation and food services................. 6,038 4,989 4,775 5,049 5,802 6,114 5,992

Other services................................................... 1,128 1,200 1,176 1,402 1,458 1,101 1,218

Government......................................................... 1,690 1,553 1,428 1,562 1,598 1,830 1,762

Federal............................................................ 254 209 194 163 173 292 252

State and local................................................. 1,436 1,343 1,234 1,397 1,426 1,537 1,508

REGION 2

Northeast......................................................... 4,929 3,971 3,660 4,104 4,504 4,507 4,019

South............................................................... 11,783 10,708 10,200 11,304 12,521 13,628 13,020

Midwest............................................................ 7,727 6,057 5,467 6,034 6,521 6,756 6,558

West............................................................... 6,380 6,097 5,552 6,495 7,283 7,290 7,496

 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. 

Industry and region 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Table 16. Annual quits rates 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Total..................................................................... 23.4 20.6 19.1 21.3 23.1 23.6 22.6

INDUSTRY

Total private......................................................... 26.3 23.2 21.6 24.0 26.1 26.6 25.4

Natural resources and mining.............................. 17.0 14.9 14.5 16.6 17.5 18.1 22.3

Construction...................................................... 27.4 24.7 23.2 25.3 28.6 25.9 21.2

Manufacturing................................................... 15.0 14.0 12.9 14.9 16.1 16.7 17.2

Durable goods................................................ 13.8 13.4 13.0 14.8 15.9 15.0 15.2

Nondurable goods.......................................... 17.1 15.1 12.8 15.1 16.5 19.6 20.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities........................ 28.9 25.1 22.7 25.8 27.4 27.9 26.4

Wholesale trade............................................. 17.0 16.2 15.1 15.6 15.1 16.4 16.9

Retail trade................................................... 36.7 31.5 28.4 32.7 34.9 35.1 33.4

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities............ 18.7 15.7 13.9 16.0 18.4 19.2 16.5

Information...................................................... 18.8 14.6 13.8 16.0 19.0 22.0 16.5

Financial activities............................................... 16.1 15.0 13.8 16.4 15.5 18.4 18.5

Finance and insurance.................................... 14.4 13.2 11.2 13.7 14.1 16.6 17.9

Real estate and rental and leasing..................... 21.0 20.2 21.2 24.0 19.3 23.4 20.2

Professional and business services........................ 26.1 23.0 21.6 24.9 27.7 30.0 28.4

Education and health services.............................. 20.4 17.5 16.4 17.3 18.5 18.5 17.6

Educational services....................................... 11.2 11.8 10.9 11.0 12.5 12.5 11.5

Health care and social assistance..................... 22.1 18.6 17.5 18.5 19.7 19.6 18.8

Leisure and hospitality....................................... 55.2 46.8 43.6 44.5 49.9 50.9 48.7

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................... 33.4 34.7 29.6 27.3 31.5 29.0 28.9

Accommodation and food services................. 59.1 48.9 46.1 47.4 53.1 54.7 52.1

Other services................................................... 21.5 22.3 21.8 25.9 27.0 20.2 22.2

Government......................................................... 8.0 7.2 6.6 7.2 7.3 8.3 7.9

Federal............................................................ 9.2 7.6 7.0 6.0 6.3 10.7 9.2

State and local................................................. 7.8 7.2 6.6 7.4 7.5 8.0 7.7

REGION 2

Northeast......................................................... 19.6 15.9 14.7 16.5 18.0 17.8 15.7

South............................................................... 25.3 23.3 22.2 24.1 26.1 27.8 26.2

Midwest............................................................ 24.7 19.6 17.8 19.6 21.1 21.7 20.9

West............................................................... 22.2 21.4 19.6 22.4 24.4 23.9 24.2

 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. 

Industry and region 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Table 17. Annual layoff and discharges levels 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Total..................................................................... 19,954 19,023 19,746 20,153 20,014 18,792 19,674

INDUSTRY

Total private......................................................... 19,048 18,057 18,628 19,048 18,886 17,578 18,505

Natural resources and mining.............................. 107 103 95 70 70 65 85

Construction...................................................... 2,697 2,705 2,827 2,677 2,564 2,382 2,465

Manufacturing................................................... 3,186 2,555 2,073 1,799 1,771 1,700 1,867

Durable goods................................................ 1,995 1,600 1,285 1,129 1,108 946 1,154

Nondurable goods.......................................... 1,197 956 788 673 662 758 717

Trade, transportation, and utilities........................ 4,147 3,944 4,151 4,315 4,144 3,709 3,941

Wholesale trade............................................. 727 733 666 706 628 581 752

Retail trade................................................... 2,713 2,534 2,691 2,750 2,651 2,548 2,552

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities............ 706 674 791 860 865 581 634

Information...................................................... 415 394 306 360 231 199 235

Financial activities............................................... 645 723 576 605 677 774 854

Finance and insurance.................................... 347 409 329 321 356 409 504

Real estate and rental and leasing..................... 298 313 247 283 319 363 352

Professional and business services........................ 3,012 2,771 3,367 3,922 4,370 3,822 4,087

Education and health services.............................. 1,226 1,369 1,428 1,441 1,415 1,414 1,521

Educational services....................................... 150 209 285 251 239 270 331

Health care and social assistance..................... 1,076 1,161 1,143 1,191 1,174 1,144 1,192

Leisure and hospitality....................................... 2,924 2,804 2,941 3,116 2,947 2,807 2,797

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................... 728 725 771 957 782 787 806

Accommodation and food services................. 2,197 2,077 2,173 2,160 2,160 2,019 1,991

Other services................................................... 685 686 860 740 701 705 652

Government......................................................... 907 967 1,120 1,102 1,128 1,215 1,171

Federal............................................................ 61 117 164 111 148 184 205

State and local................................................. 846 849 954 994 981 1,031 966

REGION 2

Northeast......................................................... 3,425 3,447 3,899 4,282 3,739 3,220 3,344

South............................................................... 6,566 6,726 7,065 6,741 7,095 6,476 6,986

Midwest............................................................ 5,121 4,394 4,336 4,558 4,656 4,404 4,538

West............................................................... 4,843 4,455 4,450 4,573 4,524 4,694 4,807

 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. 

Industry and region 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Table 18. Annual layoffs and discharges rates 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Total..................................................................... 15.1 14.6 15.2 15.3 15.0 13.8 14.3

INDUSTRY

Total private......................................................... 17.2 16.6 17.2 17.3 16.9 15.4 16.0

Natural resources and mining.............................. 17.7 17.7 16.6 11.8 11.1 9.5 11.8

Construction...................................................... 39.5 40.3 42.0 38.4 35.0 31.0 32.4

Manufacturing................................................... 19.4 16.7 14.3 12.6 12.4 12.0 13.4

Durable goods................................................ 19.3 16.9 14.3 12.7 12.4 10.5 13.1

Nondurable goods.......................................... 19.6 16.6 14.2 12.5 12.6 14.7 14.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities........................ 16.0 15.5 16.4 16.9 16.0 14.1 14.8

Wholesale trade............................................. 12.6 13.0 11.9 12.5 10.9 9.8 12.5

Retail trade................................................... 17.8 16.9 18.0 18.3 17.3 16.6 16.5

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities............ 14.2 14.0 16.6 17.9 17.6 11.6 12.5

Information...................................................... 11.4 11.6 9.6 11.5 7.5 6.6 7.8

Financial activities............................................... 8.3 9.2 7.2 7.5 8.3 9.3 10.3

Finance and insurance.................................... 6.0 7.0 5.6 5.4 5.9 6.6 8.2

Real estate and rental and leasing..................... 14.6 15.4 12.0 13.6 15.0 16.7 16.3

Professional and business services........................ 18.3 17.3 21.1 23.9 25.8 21.8 22.8

Education and health services.............................. 7.8 8.5 8.6 8.5 8.1 7.9 8.3

Educational services....................................... 6.0 7.9 10.6 9.1 8.4 9.3 11.2

Health care and social assistance..................... 8.2 8.6 8.2 8.4 8.1 7.7 7.8

Leisure and hospitality....................................... 24.3 23.4 24.2 24.9 23.0 21.4 20.8

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................... 39.9 40.7 42.5 51.7 41.3 40.8 40.7

Accommodation and food services................. 21.5 20.4 21.0 20.3 19.8 18.1 17.3

Other services................................................... 13.0 12.8 15.9 13.7 13.0 13.0 11.9

Government......................................................... 4.3 4.5 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.5 5.3

Federal............................................................ 2.2 4.2 5.9 4.1 5.4 6.7 7.5

State and local................................................. 4.6 4.5 5.1 5.3 5.1 5.4 5.0

REGION 2

Northeast......................................................... 13.6 13.8 15.7 17.2 14.9 12.7 13.0

South............................................................... 14.1 14.6 15.4 14.4 14.8 13.2 14.1

Midwest............................................................ 16.3 14.2 14.1 14.8 15.0 14.1 14.4

West............................................................... 16.8 15.7 15.7 15.8 15.2 15.4 15.5

 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. 

Industry and region 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Table 19. Annual other separations levels 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Total..................................................................... 3,784 3,742 3,666 3,689 3,770 4,227 3,868

INDUSTRY

Total private......................................................... 3,231 3,116 3,055 3,056 3,169 3,563 3,088

Natural resources and mining.............................. 24 39 43 45 24 31 30

Construction...................................................... 227 170 165 198 183 285 203

Manufacturing................................................... 528 423 406 315 407 376 359

Durable goods................................................ 386 277 263 210 300 252 233

Nondurable goods.......................................... 143 147 144 104 106 124 125

Trade, transportation, and utilities........................ 677 762 795 810 720 995 897

Wholesale trade............................................. 115 125 132 130 103 183 116

Retail trade................................................... 420 484 458 501 432 615 581

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities............ 141 152 203 178 186 199 200

Information...................................................... 84 69 50 65 81 73 87

Financial activities............................................... 240 201 223 243 198 239 208

Finance and insurance.................................... 193 153 167 202 161 180 141

Real estate and rental and leasing..................... 50 49 56 41 38 59 68

Professional and business services........................ 551 627 543 562 745 727 520

Education and health services.............................. 365 361 351 333 335 370 377

Educational services....................................... 57 49 48 38 43 43 41

Health care and social assistance..................... 311 315 303 294 289 327 335

Leisure and hospitality....................................... 369 326 340 342 332 282 283

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................... 35 29 30 32 31 39 45

Accommodation and food services................. 331 298 311 308 301 244 242

Other services................................................... 166 135 148 147 142 183 119

Government......................................................... 553 623 610 634 600 663 782

Federal............................................................ 88 86 109 138 128 180 280

State and local................................................. 464 539 500 495 474 479 502

REGION 2

Northeast......................................................... 700 719 724 786 639 757 714

South............................................................... 1,360 1,319 1,313 1,310 1,312 1,557 1,285

Midwest............................................................ 1,011 854 793 784 855 943 876

West............................................................... 714 853 838 810 964 966 992

 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. 

Industry and region 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Table 20. Annual other separations rates 1

 by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Total..................................................................... 2.9 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.8 3.1 2.8

INDUSTRY

Total private......................................................... 2.9 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.8 3.1 2.7

Natural resources and mining.............................. 4.0 6.7 7.5 7.6 3.8 4.5 4.1

Construction...................................................... 3.3 2.5 2.4 2.8 2.5 3.7 2.7

Manufacturing................................................... 3.2 2.8 2.8 2.2 2.9 2.7 2.6

Durable goods................................................ 3.7 2.9 2.9 2.4 3.4 2.8 2.6

Nondurable goods.......................................... 2.3 2.5 2.6 1.9 2.0 2.4 2.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities........................ 2.6 3.0 3.1 3.2 2.8 3.8 3.4

Wholesale trade............................................. 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.3 1.8 3.1 1.9

Retail trade................................................... 2.8 3.2 3.1 3.3 2.8 4.0 3.8

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities............ 2.8 3.2 4.3 3.7 3.8 4.0 3.9

Information...................................................... 2.3 2.0 1.6 2.1 2.6 2.4 2.9

Financial activities............................................... 3.1 2.6 2.8 3.0 2.4 2.9 2.5

Finance and insurance.................................... 3.3 2.6 2.8 3.4 2.7 2.9 2.3

Real estate and rental and leasing..................... 2.5 2.4 2.7 2.0 1.8 2.7 3.1

Professional and business services........................ 3.3 3.9 3.4 3.4 4.4 4.1 2.9

Education and health services.............................. 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.0 1.9 2.1 2.1

Educational services....................................... 2.3 1.9 1.8 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.4

Health care and social assistance..................... 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.0 2.2 2.2

Leisure and hospitality....................................... 3.1 2.7 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.2 2.1

Arts, entertainment, and recreation..................... 1.9 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.6 2.0 2.3

Accommodation and food services................. 3.2 2.9 3.0 2.9 2.8 2.2 2.1

Other services................................................... 3.2 2.5 2.7 2.7 2.6 3.4 2.2

Government......................................................... 2.6 2.9 2.8 2.9 2.8 3.0 3.5

Federal............................................................ 3.2 3.1 3.9 5.1 4.7 6.6 10.3

State and local................................................. 2.5 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.6

REGION 2

Northeast......................................................... 2.8 2.9 2.9 3.2 2.6 3.0 2.8

South............................................................... 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.8 2.7 3.2 2.6

Midwest............................................................ 3.2 2.8 2.6 2.5 2.8 3.0 2.8

West............................................................... 2.5 3.0 3.0 2.8 3.2 3.2 3.2

 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. 

Industry and region 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007