For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, July 11, 2017 USDL-17-0959

Technical information: (202) 691-5870 • JoltsInfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/jlt

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER – MAY 2017

The number of job openings decreased to 5.7 million on the last business day of May, the U.S. Bureau 

of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires increased to 5.5 million and separations 

increased to 5.3 million. Within separations, the quits rate was little changed at 2.2 percent and the 

layoffs and discharges rate was unchanged at 1.1 percent. This release includes estimates of the number 

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

geographic regions.

Job Openings

On the last business day of May, the job openings level decreased to 5.7 million (-301,000). The job 

openings rate was 3.7 percent. The number of job openings decreased for total private (-283,000) and

was little changed for government. Job openings increased in retail trade (+72,000) and educational 

services (+17,000). Job openings decreased in a number of industries with the largest decreases 

occurring in construction (-46,000) and transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-45,000). The number 

of job openings decreased in the Midwest region. (See table 1.)

Hires

The number of hires rose to 5.5 million (+429,000) in May. The hires rate was 3.7 percent. The number 

of hires increased for total private (+423,000) and was little changed for government. Hires increased in 

professional and business services (+121,000), other services (+78,000), and educational services 

(+25,000). The number of hires increased in the South region. (See table 2.)

 2.0

 2.2

 2.4

 2.6

 2.8

 3.0

 3.2

 3.4

 3.6

 3.8

 4.0

 4.2

 4.4

May-14 Aug-14 Nov-14 Feb-15 May-15 Aug-15 Nov-15 Feb-16 May-16 Aug-16 Nov-16 Feb-17 May-17

Percent

Chart 1. Job openings rate, seasonally adjusted, May 2014 - May 2017

2.0

2.2

2.4

2.6

2.8

3.0

3.2

3.4

3.6

3.8

4.0

4.2

4.4

May-14 Aug-14 Nov-14 Feb-15 May-15 Aug-15 Nov-15 Feb-16 May-16 Aug-16 Nov-16 Feb-17 May-17

Hires

Separations

Percent

Chart 2. Hires and total separations rates, seasonally adjusted, May 2014 - May 2017
- 2 -

Separations

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

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

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

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

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

The number of total separations increased to 5.3 million (+251,000) in May. The total separations rate 

was 3.6 percent. Total separations increased for total private (+245,000) and was little changed for 

government. Total separations increased in retail trade (+73,000) but decreased in federal government

(-8,000). The number of total separations rose in the South region. (See table 3.)

The number of quits increased to 3.2 million (+177,000) in May. The quits rate was 2.2 percent. The 

number of quits rose for total private (+159,000) and for government (+19,000). Quits increased in a 

number of industries with the largest increases occurring in retail trade (+66,000) and transportation, 

warehousing, and utilities (+20,000). The number of quits decreased in arts, entertainment, and 

recreation (-15,000). The number of quits increased in the South region. (See table 4.)

There were 1.7 million layoffs and discharges in May, little changed from April. The layoffs and 

discharges rate was 1.1 percent in May. The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed for

total private and for government. The layoffs and discharges level increased in professional and business 

services (+77,000). The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed in all four regions.

(See table 5.)

The number of other separations was little changed in May. Other separations was essentially 

unchanged for total private and for government. Other separations increased in educational services 

(+4,000) but decreased in federal government (-3,000). In all four regions, the number of other 

separations was little changed. (See table 6.)

Net Change in Employment

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

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

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

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

if the hires level is steady or rising. Over the 12 months ending in May, hires totaled 63.2 million and 

separations totaled 60.9 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.4 million. These totals include 

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

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for June 2017 are scheduled to be released 

on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally adjusted

Category

Job openings Hires Total separations

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

LEVELS BY INDUSTRY

(in thousands)

Total................................................... 5,582 5,967 5,666 5,153 5,043 5,472 5,101 5,008 5,259

Total private....................................... 5,044 5,410 5,127 4,781 4,720 5,143 4,762 4,681 4,926

Mining and logging1............................ 10 24 12 21 32 37 27 23 27

Construction1................................... 187 200 154 314 375 381 330 377 355

Manufacturing.................................. 344 365 343 267 314 332 294 317 327

Durable goods1.............................. 187 207 199 157 164 180 181 162 172

Nondurable goods1

.......................... 157 158 144 111 150 152 113 155 155

Trade, transportation, and utilities........... 949 967 976 1,018 969 1,046 1,012 948 1,052

Wholesale trade1............................ 154 210 192 135 116 130 131 116 126

Retail trade................................... 594 566 638 700 677 718 693 663 736

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities1

..................................... 202 190 145 184 176 198 188 168 190

Information1

..................................... 90 109 93 69 58 74 78 74 78

Financial activities.............................. 294 388 332 184 185 221 178 184 217

Finance and insurance..................... 238 283 250 123 119 146 118 110 134

Real estate and rental and leasing1. . . . .. 56 105 82 62 66 75 60 74 82

Professional and business services......... 1,203 1,093 1,036 1,105 1,006 1,127 1,071 1,001 1,090

Education and health services............... 1,053 1,111 1,079 655 614 675 604 594 612

Educational services1

....................... 94 91 108 115 97 122 100 86 97

Health care and social assistance. . . . . . .. 959 1,020 971 539 518 553 504 508 515

Leisure and hospitality........................ 746 827 817 975 953 960 989 943 949

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. . . . . .. 71 66 62 139 151 136 150 133 133

Accommodation and food services. . . . . .. 675 761 755 836 802 824 840 810 816

Other services1................................. 168 327 285 173 213 291 178 220 219

Government....................................... 538 557 539 373 324 329 339 328 333

Federal1

......................................... 101 93 99 47 34 30 29 34 26

State and local................................. 438 464 440 326 290 299 310 293 307

State and local education.................. 145 166 153 166 140 141 152 147 142

State and local, excluding education1

. . .. 292 298 287 160 150 158 158 147 165

RATES BY INDUSTRY

(percent)

Total................................................... 3.7 3.9 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.7 3.5 3.4 3.6

Total private....................................... 4.0 4.2 4.0 3.9 3.8 4.2 3.9 3.8 4.0

Mining and logging1

............................ 1.4 3.3 1.7 3.2 4.5 5.2 4.0 3.3 3.8

Construction1

................................... 2.7 2.8 2.2 4.7 5.5 5.5 4.9 5.5 5.2

Manufacturing.................................. 2.7 2.9 2.7 2.2 2.5 2.7 2.4 2.6 2.6

Durable goods1

.............................. 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.0 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.1 2.2

Nondurable goods1.......................... 3.3 3.3 3.0 2.4 3.2 3.3 2.4 3.3 3.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities........... 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.7 3.5 3.8 3.7 3.5 3.8

Wholesale trade1

............................ 2.6 3.4 3.2 2.3 2.0 2.2 2.2 2.0 2.1

Retail trade................................... 3.6 3.5 3.9 4.4 4.3 4.5 4.4 4.2 4.6

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities1

..................................... 3.5 3.3 2.5 3.3 3.1 3.5 3.4 3.0 3.4

Information1

..................................... 3.2 3.8 3.3 2.5 2.1 2.7 2.8 2.7 2.9

Financial activities.............................. 3.4 4.4 3.8 2.2 2.2 2.6 2.2 2.2 2.6

Finance and insurance..................... 3.7 4.3 3.9 2.0 1.9 2.3 1.9 1.8 2.2

Real estate and rental and leasing1. . . . .. 2.5 4.6 3.6 2.9 3.0 3.4 2.8 3.4 3.8

Professional and business services......... 5.7 5.0 4.8 5.5 4.9 5.5 5.3 4.9 5.3

Education and health services............... 4.5 4.6 4.5 2.9 2.7 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.7

Educational services1

....................... 2.6 2.4 2.9 3.2 2.7 3.3 2.8 2.4 2.7

Health care and social assistance. . . . . . .. 4.8 5.0 4.8 2.8 2.7 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.7

Leisure and hospitality........................ 4.6 5.0 4.9 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.4 5.9 6.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. . . . . .. 3.1 2.8 2.7 6.3 6.7 6.0 6.8 5.9 5.9

Accommodation and food services. . . . . .. 4.8 5.3 5.2 6.3 5.9 6.0 6.3 6.0 6.0

Other services1

................................. 2.9 5.4 4.7 3.1 3.7 5.1 3.1 3.8 3.8

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

Category

Job openings Hires Total separations

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Government....................................... 2.4 2.4 2.4 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

Federal1

......................................... 3.5 3.2 3.4 1.7 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.2 0.9

State and local................................. 2.2 2.3 2.2 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6

State and local education.................. 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.4

State and local, excluding education1

. . .. 3.1 3.2 3.1 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.8

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

are identical.

p Preliminary
Technical Note

This news release presents statistics from the Job 

Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The 

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects and compiles 

JOLTS data monthly from a sample of nonfarm 

establishments. A more detailed discussion of JOLTS 

concepts and methodology is available online at

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

Coverage and collection

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

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

are collected for total employment, job openings, hires, 

quits, layoffs and discharges, other separations, and total 

separations.

Concepts

Industry classification. The industry classifications in 

this release are in accordance with the 2012 version of the 

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

Employment. Employment includes persons on the 

payroll who worked or received pay for the pay period 

that includes the 12th day of the reference month. Fulltime, part-time, permanent, short-term, seasonal, salaried, 

and hourly employees are included, as are employees on 

paid vacations or other paid leave. Proprietors or partners 

of unincorporated businesses, unpaid family workers, or 

persons on leave without pay or on strike for the entire 

pay period, are not counted as employed. Employees of 

temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, 

outside contractors, and consultants are counted by their 

employer of record, not by the establishment where they 

are working.

Job openings. Job openings information is collected for 

the last business day of the reference month. A job 

opening requires that: 1) a specific position exists and 

there is work available for that position, 2) work could 

start within 30 days whether or not the employer found a 

suitable candidate, and 3) the employer is actively 

recruiting from outside the establishment to fill the 

position. Included are full-time, part-time, permanent, 

short-term, and seasonal openings. Active recruiting 

means that the establishment is taking steps to fill a 

position by advertising in newspapers or on the Internet, 

posting help-wanted signs, accepting applications, or 

using other similar methods.

Jobs to be filled only by internal transfers, promotions, 

demotions, or recall from layoffs are excluded. Also 

excluded are jobs with start dates more than 30 days in 

the future, jobs for which employees have been hired but 

have not yet reported for work, and jobs to be filled by 

employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing 

companies, outside contractors, or consultants. The job 

openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job 

openings by the sum of employment and job openings and 

multiplying that quotient by 100.

Hires. The hires level is the total number of additions to 

the payroll occurring at any time during the reference 

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

employees, employees recalled to the location after a 

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

employees who returned to work after having been 

formally separated, and transfers from other locations. 

The hires count does not include transfers or promotions 

within the reporting site, employees returning from strike, 

employees of temporary help agencies or employee 

leasing companies, outside contractors, or consultants. 

The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of 

hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 

100.

Separations. The separations level is the total number of 

employment terminations occurring at any time during the 

reference month, and is reported by type of separation—

quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. 

(Some respondents are only able to report total 

separations.) The quits count includes voluntary 

separations by employees (except for retirements, which 

are reported as other separations). The layoffs and 

discharges count is comprised of involuntary separations 

initiated by the employer and includes layoffs with no 

intent to rehire; formal layoffs lasting or expected to last 

more than 7 days; discharges resulting from mergers, 

downsizing, or closings; firings or other discharges for 

cause; terminations of permanent or short-term 

employees; and terminations of seasonal employees. The 

other separations count includes retirements, transfers to 

other locations, deaths, and separations due to disability. 

The separations count does not include transfers within 

the same location or employees on strike. The separations 

rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by 

employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The 

quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations rates 

are computed similarly.

Annual estimates. Annual levels for hires, quits, layoffs 

and discharges, other separations, and total separations 

are the sum of the 12 published monthly levels. Annual 

rates are computed by dividing the annual level by the 

Current Employment Statistics (CES) annual average 

employment level, and multiplying that quotient by 100. 

This figure will be approximately equal to the sum of the 

12 monthly rates. Consistent with BLS practice, annual 

estimates are published only for not seasonally adjusted 

data and are released with the January news release each 

year. Annual estimates are not calculated for job openings 

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

measurement for the last business day of each month.
Sample and estimation methodology

The JOLTS survey design is a stratified random sample of 

16,000 nonfarm business and government establishments. 

The sample is stratified by ownership, region, industry 

sector, and establishment size class. The establishments 

are drawn from a universe of over 9.1 million 

establishments compiled by the Quarterly Census of 

Employment and Wages (QCEW) program which

includes all employers subject to state unemployment 

insurance laws and federal agencies subject to the 

Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees

program.

JOLTS total employment estimates are benchmarked, or 

ratio adjusted, monthly to the strike-adjusted employment 

estimates of the CES survey. A ratio of CES to JOLTS 

employment is used to adjust the levels for all other 

JOLTS data elements.

JOLTS business birth/death model

As with any sample survey, the JOLTS sample can only 

be as current as its sampling frame. The time lag from the 

birth of an establishment until its appearance on the 

sampling frame is approximately one year. In addition, 

many of these new units may fail within the first year. 

Since these universe units cannot be reflected on the 

sampling frame immediately, the JOLTS sample cannot 

capture job openings, hires, and separations from these 

units during their early existence. To compensate for the 

inability to capture data from these establishments, BLS 

has developed a birth/death model that uses birth and 

death activity from previous years. The estimates of job 

openings, hires, and separations produced by the 

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

produced from the survey to arrive at the estimates for 

openings, hires, and separations.

Seasonal adjustment

BLS uses X-13 ARIMA to seasonally adjust several 

JOLTS series utilizing moving averages as seasonal 

filters. A concurrent seasonal adjustment methodology is 

used in which new seasonal adjustment factors are 

calculated each month, using all relevant data, up to and 

including current month data. JOLTS seasonal adjustment 

includes both additive and multiplicative models and 

REGARIMA (regression with auto-correlated errors) 

modeling to improve the seasonal adjustment factors at 

the beginning and end of the series and to detect and 

adjust for outliers in the series.

Alignment procedure

The JOLTS measures for hires minus separations can be 

used to derive a measure of net employment change. This 

change should be comparable to the net employment 

change from the much larger CES survey. However, 

definitional differences as well as sampling and nonsampling errors between the two surveys historically 

caused JOLTS to diverge from CES over time. To limit 

the divergence, and improve the quality of the JOLTS 

hires and separations series, BLS implemented the 

Monthly Alignment Method.

This method applies the CES employment trends to the 

seasonally adjusted JOLTS implied employment trend 

(hires minus separations) forcing them to be 

approximately the same, while preserving the seasonality 

of the JOLTS data. First, the two series are seasonally 

adjusted and the difference between the JOLTS implied 

employment change and the CES net employment change 

is calculated. Next, the JOLTS implied employment 

change is adjusted to equal the CES net employment 

change through a proportional adjustment. This procedure 

adjusts the two components (hires, separations) 

proportionally to their contribution to the total churn 

(hires plus separations). The adjusted hires and 

separations are converted back to not seasonally adjusted 

data by reversing the application of the original seasonal 

factors. After the Monthly Alignment Method has been 

used to adjust the level estimates, rate estimates are 

computed from the adjusted levels. 

Reliability of the estimates

JOLTS estimates are subject to both sampling and 

nonsampling error. When a sample is surveyed rather than 

the entire population, there is a chance that the sample 

estimates may differ from the "true" population values 

they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, 

varies depending on the particular sample selected, and 

this variability is measured by the standard error of the 

estimate. BLS analysis is generally conducted at the 90-

percent level of confidence. That means that there is a 90-

percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate 

based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 

standard errors from the "true" population value because 

of sampling error. Sampling error estimates are available

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

The JOLTS estimates also are affected by non-sampling 

error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, 

including the failure to include a segment of the 

population, the inability to obtain data from all units in 

the sample, the inability or unwillingness of respondents 

to provide data on a timely basis, mistakes made by 

respondents, errors made in the collection or processing 

of the data, and errors from the employment benchmark 

data used in estimation.

Other information

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Table 1. Job openings levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted1

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

May

2016

Jan.

2017

Feb.

2017

Mar.

2017

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Jan.

2017

Feb.

2017

Mar.

2017

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Total............................................... 5,582 5,625 5,682 5,785 5,967 5,666 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.7

INDUSTRY

Total private................................... 5,044 5,133 5,179 5,244 5,410 5,127 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.0

Mining and logging3

....................... 10 25 20 25 24 12 1.4 3.5 2.9 3.4 3.3 1.7

Construction3............................... 187 142 181 161 200 154 2.7 2.0 2.6 2.3 2.8 2.2

Manufacturing.............................. 344 361 364 404 365 343 2.7 2.8 2.9 3.2 2.9 2.7

Durable goods3

.......................... 187 206 209 230 207 199 2.4 2.6 2.6 2.9 2.6 2.5

Nondurable goods3

...................... 157 155 155 174 158 144 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.6 3.3 3.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . .. 949 959 928 948 967 976 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.4

Wholesale trade3

........................ 154 201 175 183 210 192 2.6 3.3 2.9 3.0 3.4 3.2

Retail trade............................... 594 581 579 593 566 638 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.9

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities3

................................. 202 177 174 172 190 145 3.5 3.1 3.0 3.0 3.3 2.5

Information3................................. 90 73 75 83 109 93 3.2 2.6 2.7 3.0 3.8 3.3

Financial activities......................... 294 388 360 327 388 332 3.4 4.4 4.1 3.7 4.4 3.8

Finance and insurance................. 238 248 285 260 283 250 3.7 3.8 4.4 4.0 4.3 3.9

Real estate and rental and leasing3

... 56 140 75 68 105 82 2.5 6.0 3.3 3.0 4.6 3.6

Professional and business services. . . .. 1,203 1,056 976 1,152 1,093 1,036 5.7 4.9 4.5 5.3 5.0 4.8

Education and health services........... 1,053 1,158 1,241 1,103 1,111 1,079 4.5 4.8 5.1 4.6 4.6 4.5

Educational services3

................... 94 93 126 87 91 108 2.6 2.5 3.4 2.3 2.4 2.9

Health care and social assistance. . .. 959 1,065 1,115 1,016 1,020 971 4.8 5.2 5.5 5.0 5.0 4.8

Leisure and hospitality.................... 746 729 784 735 827 817 4.6 4.4 4.7 4.4 5.0 4.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. .. 71 83 92 77 66 62 3.1 3.6 3.9 3.3 2.8 2.7

Accommodation and food services. .. 675 646 693 657 761 755 4.8 4.6 4.9 4.6 5.3 5.2

Other services3

............................. 168 241 250 306 327 285 2.9 4.0 4.2 5.1 5.4 4.7

Government................................... 538 492 503 541 557 539 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.4 2.4 2.4

Federal3

..................................... 101 82 83 91 93 99 3.5 2.8 2.9 3.1 3.2 3.4

State and local............................. 438 410 420 450 464 440 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.3 2.2

State and local education.............. 145 161 140 163 166 153 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.5

State and local, excluding

education3

............................. 292 249 280 288 298 287 3.1 2.7 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.1

REGION4

Northeast...................................... 933 998 1,102 1,033 1,103 1,048 3.4 3.6 3.9 3.7 3.9 3.7

South........................................... 2,049 2,024 2,060 2,160 2,190 2,062 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.9 4.0 3.7

Midwest........................................ 1,313 1,324 1,285 1,349 1,424 1,301 3.9 3.9 3.8 4.0 4.2 3.8

West............................................ 1,287 1,279 1,236 1,243 1,250 1,256 3.8 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6

1

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

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

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

series.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

May

2016

Jan.

2017

Feb.

2017

Mar.

2017

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Jan.

2017

Feb.

2017

Mar.

2017

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Total............................................... 5,153 5,424 5,249 5,304 5,043 5,472 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.5 3.7

INDUSTRY

Total private................................... 4,781 5,067 4,905 4,975 4,720 5,143 3.9 4.1 4.0 4.0 3.8 4.2

Mining and logging......................... 21 30 39 30 32 37 3.2 4.4 5.7 4.3 4.5 5.2

Construction................................ 314 387 367 372 375 381 4.7 5.7 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.5

Manufacturing.............................. 267 304 296 325 314 332 2.2 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.7

Durable goods........................... 157 165 154 177 164 180 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.3 2.1 2.3

Nondurable goods....................... 111 139 142 147 150 152 2.4 3.0 3.0 3.2 3.2 3.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . .. 1,018 1,023 1,090 1,051 969 1,046 3.7 3.7 4.0 3.8 3.5 3.8

Wholesale trade......................... 135 140 139 129 116 130 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.2 2.0 2.2

Retail trade............................... 700 682 757 725 677 718 4.4 4.3 4.8 4.6 4.3 4.5

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities.................................. 184 201 194 197 176 198 3.3 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.1 3.5

Information.................................. 69 80 76 77 58 74 2.5 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.1 2.7

Financial activities......................... 184 220 190 214 185 221 2.2 2.6 2.3 2.5 2.2 2.6

Finance and insurance................. 123 150 122 138 119 146 2.0 2.4 2.0 2.2 1.9 2.3

Real estate and rental and leasing. .. 62 70 68 76 66 75 2.9 3.2 3.1 3.5 3.0 3.4

Professional and business services. . . .. 1,105 1,128 1,044 1,060 1,006 1,127 5.5 5.5 5.1 5.2 4.9 5.5

Education and health services........... 655 646 622 679 614 675 2.9 2.8 2.7 3.0 2.7 2.9

Educational services.................... 115 79 81 96 97 122 3.2 2.2 2.2 2.7 2.7 3.3

Health care and social assistance. . .. 539 567 541 582 518 553 2.8 2.9 2.8 3.0 2.7 2.8

Leisure and hospitality.................... 975 1,015 981 967 953 960 6.3 6.4 6.2 6.1 6.0 6.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. .. 139 146 151 119 151 136 6.3 6.5 6.7 5.3 6.7 6.0

Accommodation and food services. .. 836 869 831 849 802 824 6.3 6.4 6.1 6.3 5.9 6.0

Other services.............................. 173 233 199 200 213 291 3.1 4.1 3.5 3.5 3.7 5.1

Government................................... 373 357 344 329 324 329 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

Federal...................................... 47 46 35 34 34 30 1.7 1.6 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.1

State and local............................. 326 312 308 295 290 299 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5

State and local education.............. 166 159 151 143 140 141 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.4

State and local, excluding

education.............................. 160 153 157 152 150 158 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.7

REGION3

Northeast...................................... 789 898 864 864 888 962 3.0 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.6

South........................................... 1,965 2,091 2,105 2,057 1,963 2,155 3.7 3.9 4.0 3.9 3.7 4.0

Midwest........................................ 1,171 1,162 1,123 1,131 1,083 1,177 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.3 3.6

West............................................ 1,228 1,273 1,157 1,252 1,110 1,178 3.7 3.8 3.5 3.8 3.3 3.5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

May

2016

Jan.

2017

Feb.

2017

Mar.

2017

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Jan.

2017

Feb.

2017

Mar.

2017

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Total............................................... 5,101 5,247 5,008 5,198 5,008 5,259 3.5 3.6 3.4 3.6 3.4 3.6

INDUSTRY

Total private................................... 4,762 4,908 4,662 4,882 4,681 4,926 3.9 4.0 3.8 4.0 3.8 4.0

Mining and logging......................... 27 32 32 25 23 27 4.0 4.8 4.7 3.6 3.3 3.8

Construction................................ 330 361 339 374 377 355 4.9 5.3 4.9 5.4 5.5 5.2

Manufacturing.............................. 294 304 280 318 317 327 2.4 2.5 2.3 2.6 2.6 2.6

Durable goods........................... 181 163 155 173 162 172 2.4 2.1 2.0 2.2 2.1 2.2

Nondurable goods....................... 113 141 125 146 155 155 2.4 3.0 2.7 3.1 3.3 3.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . .. 1,012 1,012 1,056 1,063 948 1,052 3.7 3.7 3.9 3.9 3.5 3.8

Wholesale trade......................... 131 150 135 132 116 126 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.2 2.0 2.1

Retail trade............................... 693 670 749 745 663 736 4.4 4.2 4.7 4.7 4.2 4.6

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities.................................. 188 192 171 186 168 190 3.4 3.4 3.1 3.3 3.0 3.4

Information.................................. 78 87 79 79 74 78 2.8 3.2 2.9 2.9 2.7 2.9

Financial activities......................... 178 198 182 201 184 217 2.2 2.4 2.2 2.4 2.2 2.6

Finance and insurance................. 118 133 127 126 110 134 1.9 2.1 2.0 2.0 1.8 2.2

Real estate and rental and leasing. .. 60 65 55 75 74 82 2.8 3.0 2.5 3.4 3.4 3.8

Professional and business services. . . .. 1,071 1,068 999 1,033 1,001 1,090 5.3 5.2 4.9 5.0 4.9 5.3

Education and health services........... 604 639 548 635 594 612 2.7 2.8 2.4 2.8 2.6 2.7

Educational services.................... 100 82 59 90 86 97 2.8 2.3 1.6 2.5 2.4 2.7

Health care and social assistance. . .. 504 557 488 545 508 515 2.7 2.9 2.5 2.8 2.6 2.7

Leisure and hospitality.................... 989 987 968 966 943 949 6.4 6.3 6.1 6.1 5.9 6.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. .. 150 135 140 137 133 133 6.8 6.0 6.2 6.1 5.9 5.9

Accommodation and food services. .. 840 852 828 829 810 816 6.3 6.3 6.1 6.1 6.0 6.0

Other services.............................. 178 219 179 188 220 219 3.1 3.8 3.1 3.3 3.8 3.8

Government................................... 339 339 347 315 328 333 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.5 1.5

Federal...................................... 29 38 35 37 34 26 1.0 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.2 0.9

State and local............................. 310 301 312 278 293 307 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.5 1.6

State and local education.............. 152 151 168 130 147 142 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.2 1.4 1.4

State and local, excluding

education.............................. 158 149 144 148 147 165 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.8

REGION3

Northeast...................................... 769 840 866 816 808 843 2.9 3.1 3.2 3.0 3.0 3.1

South........................................... 1,995 1,991 1,971 2,057 1,992 2,178 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.9 3.7 4.1

Midwest........................................ 1,161 1,177 1,057 1,162 1,044 1,104 3.6 3.6 3.3 3.6 3.2 3.4

West............................................ 1,175 1,239 1,114 1,163 1,165 1,133 3.6 3.7 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

May

2016

Jan.

2017

Feb.

2017

Mar.

2017

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Jan.

2017

Feb.

2017

Mar.

2017

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Total............................................... 3,005 3,186 3,036 3,138 3,044 3,221 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.2

INDUSTRY

Total private................................... 2,841 3,011 2,865 2,962 2,887 3,046 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.5

Mining and logging......................... 11 13 17 13 11 14 1.7 2.0 2.5 1.9 1.6 2.0

Construction................................ 118 151 162 164 159 140 1.8 2.2 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.0

Manufacturing.............................. 143 177 184 183 178 205 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.7

Durable goods........................... 80 96 97 94 94 104 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3

Nondurable goods....................... 63 82 88 89 84 101 1.4 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.8 2.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . .. 611 657 672 678 581 671 2.2 2.4 2.5 2.5 2.1 2.5

Wholesale trade......................... 67 103 71 76 72 76 1.1 1.8 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.3

Retail trade............................... 453 469 492 498 420 486 2.9 2.9 3.1 3.1 2.7 3.1

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities.................................. 91 85 109 105 89 109 1.7 1.5 2.0 1.9 1.6 1.9

Information.................................. 38 42 48 43 37 31 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.4 1.1

Financial activities......................... 112 123 85 105 111 124 1.4 1.5 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.5

Finance and insurance................. 70 80 57 71 71 77 1.1 1.3 0.9 1.1 1.1 1.2

Real estate and rental and leasing3... 42 43 28 34 40 47 2.0 2.0 1.3 1.5 1.8 2.2

Professional and business services. . . .. 605 625 569 618 630 630 3.0 3.1 2.8 3.0 3.1 3.1

Education and health services........... 405 438 371 426 402 406 1.8 1.9 1.6 1.9 1.7 1.8

Educational services.................... 50 45 41 48 45 45 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.2

Health care and social assistance. . .. 355 394 330 379 357 361 1.9 2.0 1.7 2.0 1.8 1.9

Leisure and hospitality.................... 696 662 660 649 667 707 4.5 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.2 4.4

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. .. 67 70 76 76 77 62 3.0 3.1 3.4 3.4 3.4 2.7

Accommodation and food services. .. 629 593 584 573 590 645 4.7 4.4 4.3 4.2 4.3 4.7

Other services3

............................. 102 123 97 83 111 119 1.8 2.1 1.7 1.4 1.9 2.1

Government................................... 165 175 171 176 157 176 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8

Federal...................................... 9 15 16 16 14 11 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.4

State and local............................. 156 161 155 159 143 164 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8

State and local education.............. 71 75 74 72 75 80 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8

State and local, excluding

education.............................. 84 86 81 87 67 84 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.7 0.9

REGION4

Northeast...................................... 391 430 426 419 446 470 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.7

South........................................... 1,205 1,248 1,267 1,308 1,220 1,343 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.3 2.5

Midwest........................................ 724 719 694 695 639 680 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.1

West............................................ 685 789 649 715 740 728 2.1 2.4 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.2

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

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

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

series.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

May

2016

Jan.

2017

Feb.

2017

Mar.

2017

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Jan.

2017

Feb.

2017

Mar.

2017

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Total............................................... 1,741 1,659 1,594 1,661 1,605 1,661 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1

INDUSTRY

Total private................................... 1,626 1,555 1,483 1,582 1,500 1,566 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.3

Mining and logging3

....................... 11 16 12 8 9 9 1.7 2.4 1.7 1.2 1.3 1.3

Construction................................ 200 177 155 197 207 202 3.0 2.6 2.3 2.9 3.0 2.9

Manufacturing.............................. 130 103 73 112 117 103 1.1 0.8 0.6 0.9 0.9 0.8

Durable goods........................... 90 55 43 67 55 56 1.2 0.7 0.6 0.9 0.7 0.7

Nondurable goods....................... 40 48 30 44 63 47 0.9 1.0 0.6 0.9 1.3 1.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . .. 312 289 309 303 282 293 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1

Wholesale trade3

........................ 55 39 49 45 33 42 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.7

Retail trade............................... 174 155 210 195 183 185 1.1 1.0 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities.................................. 83 94 50 63 66 66 1.5 1.7 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.2

Information.................................. 30 27 23 28 24 34 1.1 1.0 0.8 1.0 0.9 1.3

Financial activities......................... 50 50 68 70 45 58 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.7

Finance and insurance................. 33 30 46 32 19 26 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.4

Real estate and rental and leasing. .. 17 19 22 38 25 32 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.7 1.2 1.5

Professional and business services. . . .. 399 383 367 325 315 392 2.0 1.9 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.9

Education and health services........... 168 132 127 161 158 171 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7

Educational services.................... 44 31 16 36 37 44 1.2 0.9 0.5 1.0 1.0 1.2

Health care and social assistance. . .. 124 102 111 126 121 127 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7

Leisure and hospitality.................... 253 296 276 278 247 209 1.6 1.9 1.7 1.8 1.6 1.3

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. .. 78 60 61 58 54 68 3.5 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.4 3.0

Accommodation and food services. .. 175 235 215 220 194 141 1.3 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.0

Other services.............................. 73 83 73 100 96 95 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.8 1.7 1.7

Government................................... 114 104 111 79 104 95 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4

Federal...................................... 11 13 10 11 11 9 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3

State and local............................. 103 91 101 69 94 86 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4

State and local education.............. 54 51 63 32 42 36 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.4

State and local, excluding

education.............................. 50 39 38 36 52 50 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.5

REGION4

Northeast...................................... 326 340 374 327 295 305 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.1

South........................................... 646 573 566 601 646 698 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.3

Midwest........................................ 354 383 294 368 333 343 1.1 1.2 0.9 1.1 1.0 1.1

West............................................ 415 362 361 365 331 314 1.3 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 0.9

1

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

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

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

series.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

May

2016

Jan.

2017

Feb.

2017

Mar.

2017

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Jan.

2017

Feb.

2017

Mar.

2017

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Total............................................... 355 402 378 399 359 377 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3

INDUSTRY

Total private................................... 295 342 314 338 293 314 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3

Mining and logging......................... 4 3 4 4 3 4 0.7 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.5

Construction3

............................... 12 32 22 13 11 13 0.2 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2

Manufacturing.............................. 21 24 24 23 21 19 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

Durable goods........................... 12 13 16 11 13 11 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1

Nondurable goods3...................... 10 11 8 12 8 8 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . .. 88 66 74 82 84 88 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

Wholesale trade......................... 8 7 14 12 11 8 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1

Retail trade............................... 67 46 48 52 60 64 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4

Transportation, warehousing, and

utilities3

................................. 13 13 12 18 13 16 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3

Information3................................. 10 18 8 9 13 13 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.5

Financial activities......................... 16 26 29 25 28 34 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4

Finance and insurance................. 15 23 24 22 20 31 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.5

Real estate and rental and leasing3... 1 3 4 3 8 3 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.1

Professional and business services. . . .. 67 61 62 90 57 68 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3

Education and health services........... 32 68 50 48 34 36 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2

Educational services3................... 7 7 2 7 4 8 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2

Health care and social assistance3

. .. 25 61 47 41 30 28 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1

Leisure and hospitality.................... 41 29 32 40 29 33 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation3

... 5 5 3 3 3 4 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2

Accommodation and food services3... 36 24 29 37 26 29 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2

Other services3............................. 3 14 10 5 13 5 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1

Government................................... 60 60 64 60 66 62 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

Federal...................................... 9 10 9 10 9 6 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.2

State and local............................. 51 49 56 50 57 56 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

State and local education.............. 26 25 31 25 29 26 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2

State and local, excluding

education.............................. 24 24 24 25 28 31 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

REGION4

Northeast...................................... 52 70 66 70 67 68 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3

South........................................... 144 171 139 148 126 137 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3

Midwest........................................ 82 75 69 98 72 81 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2

West............................................ 75 87 104 82 94 91 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3

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

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

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

series.

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

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

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

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

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

p Preliminary

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

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Total..................................................................... 5,591 6,312 5,665 3.7 4.1 3.7

INDUSTRY

Total private.......................................................... 5,050 5,761 5,123 4.0 4.5 4.0

Mining and logging............................................... 10 24 12 1.5 3.4 1.7

Construction....................................................... 187 200 154 2.7 2.9 2.2

Manufacturing..................................................... 344 365 343 2.7 2.9 2.7

Durable goods.................................................. 187 207 199 2.4 2.6 2.5

Nondurable goods............................................. 157 158 144 3.3 3.3 3.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 940 955 969 3.4 3.4 3.4

Wholesale trade................................................ 154 210 192 2.6 3.4 3.1

Retail trade..................................................... 585 555 632 3.6 3.4 3.9

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities.................. 202 190 145 3.5 3.3 2.5

Information........................................................ 90 109 93 3.2 3.8 3.3

Financial activities................................................ 284 439 314 3.3 5.0 3.6

Finance and insurance........................................ 228 334 232 3.6 5.1 3.6

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................... 56 105 82 2.5 4.6 3.6

Professional and business services............................ 1,214 1,186 1,043 5.7 5.5 4.8

Education and health services.................................. 1,032 1,179 1,040 4.4 4.8 4.3

Educational services.......................................... 94 91 108 2.6 2.3 2.8

Health care and social assistance........................... 938 1,088 931 4.7 5.3 4.6

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 781 978 870 4.7 5.8 5.1

Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......................... 88 93 73 3.7 4.0 3.0

Accommodation and food services.......................... 692 885 797 4.9 6.1 5.5

Other services.................................................... 168 327 285 2.9 5.4 4.7

Government.......................................................... 541 551 542 2.3 2.4 2.3

Federal............................................................. 101 93 99 3.5 3.2 3.4

State and local.................................................... 441 458 443 2.2 2.2 2.2

State and local education..................................... 148 160 156 1.4 1.5 1.4

State and local, excluding education........................ 292 298 287 3.1 3.2 3.1

REGION3

Northeast............................................................. 931 1,154 1,044 3.4 4.1 3.7

South................................................................. 2,033 2,353 2,035 3.7 4.2 3.7

Midwest............................................................... 1,341 1,479 1,325 4.0 4.4 3.9

West.................................................................. 1,286 1,326 1,261 3.7 3.8 3.6

1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Total..................................................................... 5,692 5,344 6,032 3.9 3.7 4.1

INDUSTRY

Total private.......................................................... 5,295 5,088 5,680 4.3 4.1 4.6

Mining and logging............................................... 21 35 38 3.2 5.1 5.4

Construction....................................................... 396 510 480 5.9 7.6 6.9

Manufacturing..................................................... 298 324 373 2.4 2.6 3.0

Durable goods.................................................. 179 173 208 2.3 2.2 2.7

Nondurable goods............................................. 119 151 166 2.6 3.3 3.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 1,066 919 1,098 3.9 3.4 4.0

Wholesale trade................................................ 143 133 138 2.4 2.3 2.3

Retail trade..................................................... 759 639 784 4.8 4.1 5.0

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities.................. 164 147 176 3.0 2.6 3.2

Information........................................................ 70 62 75 2.5 2.3 2.8

Financial activities................................................ 206 198 251 2.5 2.4 3.0

Finance and insurance........................................ 137 117 165 2.2 1.9 2.7

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................... 69 81 86 3.2 3.7 3.9

Professional and business services............................ 1,155 1,129 1,181 5.8 5.5 5.7

Education and health services.................................. 615 595 642 2.7 2.6 2.8

Educational services.......................................... 77 62 90 2.1 1.6 2.4

Health care and social assistance........................... 537 533 552 2.8 2.8 2.8

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 1,252 1,094 1,209 7.9 6.9 7.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......................... 239 209 221 10.4 9.5 9.4

Accommodation and food services.......................... 1,013 884 989 7.5 6.5 7.2

Other services.................................................... 217 223 334 3.8 3.9 5.8

Government.......................................................... 397 256 352 1.8 1.1 1.6

Federal............................................................. 62 31 37 2.2 1.1 1.3

State and local.................................................... 335 225 316 1.7 1.1 1.6

State and local education..................................... 104 74 86 1.0 0.7 0.8

State and local, excluding education........................ 231 151 229 2.5 1.7 2.5

REGION3

Northeast............................................................. 875 944 1,064 3.3 3.5 3.9

South................................................................. 2,100 2,051 2,308 4.0 3.9 4.3

Midwest............................................................... 1,404 1,202 1,412 4.4 3.7 4.3

West.................................................................. 1,313 1,147 1,249 4.0 3.4 3.7

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

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

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

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

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

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

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Total..................................................................... 5,052 4,822 5,267 3.5 3.3 3.6

INDUSTRY

Total private.......................................................... 4,647 4,591 4,882 3.8 3.7 3.9

Mining and logging............................................... 27 23 27 4.0 3.3 3.9

Construction....................................................... 302 367 333 4.5 5.4 4.8

Manufacturing..................................................... 287 312 334 2.3 2.5 2.7

Durable goods.................................................. 176 163 175 2.3 2.1 2.3

Nondurable goods............................................. 110 149 159 2.4 3.2 3.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 968 918 1,020 3.6 3.4 3.7

Wholesale trade................................................ 126 122 120 2.1 2.1 2.0

Retail trade..................................................... 680 640 731 4.3 4.1 4.6

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities.................. 163 156 169 2.9 2.8 3.0

Information........................................................ 75 73 77 2.7 2.7 2.8

Financial activities................................................ 172 194 218 2.1 2.3 2.6

Finance and insurance........................................ 115 118 139 1.9 1.9 2.2

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................... 57 76 79 2.7 3.5 3.6

Professional and business services............................ 1,068 1,035 1,093 5.3 5.0 5.3

Education and health services.................................. 633 564 648 2.8 2.4 2.8

Educational services.......................................... 124 62 127 3.5 1.6 3.4

Health care and social assistance........................... 509 502 521 2.7 2.6 2.7

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 939 897 912 5.9 5.7 5.6

Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......................... 118 130 106 5.1 5.9 4.5

Accommodation and food services.......................... 820 767 806 6.1 5.7 5.8

Other services.................................................... 176 208 220 3.1 3.6 3.8

Government.......................................................... 405 230 385 1.8 1.0 1.7

Federal............................................................. 26 33 21 0.9 1.2 0.7

State and local.................................................... 379 198 364 1.9 1.0 1.8

State and local education..................................... 239 81 215 2.2 0.7 2.0

State and local, excluding education........................ 140 117 149 1.5 1.3 1.6

REGION3

Northeast............................................................. 688 752 771 2.6 2.8 2.8

South................................................................. 2,021 1,964 2,250 3.8 3.7 4.2

Midwest............................................................... 1,142 971 1,097 3.6 3.0 3.4

West.................................................................. 1,200 1,135 1,149 3.6 3.4 3.4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Total..................................................................... 3,027 3,021 3,276 2.1 2.1 2.2

INDUSTRY

Total private.......................................................... 2,837 2,899 3,070 2.3 2.4 2.5

Mining and logging............................................... 12 11 15 1.7 1.6 2.2

Construction....................................................... 127 169 148 1.9 2.5 2.1

Manufacturing..................................................... 149 184 221 1.2 1.5 1.8

Durable goods.................................................. 84 100 112 1.1 1.3 1.4

Nondurable goods............................................. 65 84 109 1.4 1.8 2.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 600 590 664 2.2 2.2 2.4

Wholesale trade................................................ 65 77 73 1.1 1.3 1.2

Retail trade..................................................... 455 420 494 2.9 2.7 3.1

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities.................. 80 93 97 1.4 1.7 1.7

Information........................................................ 36 37 29 1.3 1.3 1.1

Financial activities................................................ 114 116 129 1.4 1.4 1.5

Finance and insurance........................................ 72 76 82 1.2 1.2 1.3

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................... 42 40 47 2.0 1.9 2.2

Professional and business services............................ 614 639 636 3.1 3.1 3.1

Education and health services.................................. 411 393 411 1.8 1.7 1.8

Educational services.......................................... 55 34 49 1.5 0.9 1.3

Health care and social assistance........................... 356 359 361 1.9 1.9 1.9

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 673 649 698 4.3 4.1 4.3

Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......................... 64 69 59 2.8 3.1 2.5

Accommodation and food services.......................... 609 579 639 4.5 4.3 4.6

Other services.................................................... 102 111 119 1.8 1.9 2.1

Government.......................................................... 189 122 206 0.8 0.5 0.9

Federal............................................................. 9 15 11 0.3 0.5 0.4

State and local.................................................... 180 107 195 0.9 0.5 1.0

State and local education..................................... 94 45 106 0.9 0.4 1.0

State and local, excluding education........................ 87 62 89 1.0 0.7 1.0

REGION3

Northeast............................................................. 374 428 459 1.4 1.6 1.7

South................................................................. 1,215 1,236 1,378 2.3 2.3 2.6

Midwest............................................................... 738 618 695 2.3 1.9 2.1

West.................................................................. 701 740 744 2.1 2.2 2.2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Total..................................................................... 1,664 1,462 1,594 1.2 1.0 1.1

INDUSTRY

Total private.......................................................... 1,519 1,401 1,489 1.2 1.1 1.2

Mining and logging............................................... 11 9 9 1.7 1.3 1.3

Construction....................................................... 163 188 172 2.4 2.8 2.5

Manufacturing..................................................... 115 105 94 0.9 0.9 0.8

Durable goods.................................................. 79 49 52 1.0 0.6 0.7

Nondurable goods............................................. 36 56 42 0.8 1.2 0.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 273 243 254 1.0 0.9 0.9

Wholesale trade................................................ 55 33 42 0.9 0.6 0.7

Retail trade..................................................... 148 160 157 0.9 1.0 1.0

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities.................. 69 50 56 1.3 0.9 1.0

Information........................................................ 29 24 35 1.0 0.9 1.3

Financial activities................................................ 42 47 50 0.5 0.6 0.6

Finance and insurance........................................ 28 20 21 0.5 0.3 0.3

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................... 14 28 29 0.7 1.3 1.3

Professional and business services............................ 399 344 397 2.0 1.7 1.9

Education and health services.................................. 191 137 202 0.8 0.6 0.9

Educational services.......................................... 63 23 69 1.7 0.6 1.9

Health care and social assistance........................... 128 114 133 0.7 0.6 0.7

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 225 220 181 1.4 1.4 1.1

Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......................... 50 58 43 2.2 2.6 1.9

Accommodation and food services.......................... 175 162 137 1.3 1.2 1.0

Other services.................................................... 71 84 96 1.2 1.5 1.7

Government.......................................................... 145 60 106 0.6 0.3 0.5

Federal............................................................. 7 9 5 0.3 0.3 0.2

State and local.................................................... 137 51 101 0.7 0.3 0.5

State and local education..................................... 106 19 69 1.0 0.2 0.6

State and local, excluding education........................ 32 32 32 0.3 0.4 0.4

REGION3

Northeast............................................................. 270 260 249 1.0 1.0 0.9

South................................................................. 652 618 725 1.2 1.2 1.4

Midwest............................................................... 318 283 308 1.0 0.9 0.9

West.................................................................. 423 300 312 1.3 0.9 0.9

1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Industry and region

Levels (in thousands) Rates2

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

May

2016

Apr.

2017

May

2017p

Total..................................................................... 361 339 397 0.3 0.2 0.3

INDUSTRY

Total private.......................................................... 290 291 323 0.2 0.2 0.3

Mining and logging............................................... 4 2 3 0.6 0.3 0.5

Construction....................................................... 12 11 13 0.2 0.2 0.2

Manufacturing..................................................... 22 22 20 0.2 0.2 0.2

Durable goods.................................................. 13 14 12 0.2 0.2 0.1

Nondurable goods............................................. 10 8 8 0.2 0.2 0.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 96 85 101 0.4 0.3 0.4

Wholesale trade................................................ 6 12 5 0.1 0.2 0.1

Retail trade..................................................... 76 60 80 0.5 0.4 0.5

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities.................. 13 13 16 0.2 0.2 0.3

Information........................................................ 10 13 13 0.4 0.5 0.5

Financial activities................................................ 17 30 38 0.2 0.4 0.5

Finance and insurance........................................ 16 22 36 0.3 0.4 0.6

Real estate and rental and leasing.......................... 1 8 3 0.0 0.4 0.1

Professional and business services............................ 54 51 61 0.3 0.3 0.3

Education and health services.................................. 32 34 36 0.1 0.1 0.2

Educational services.......................................... 7 4 8 0.2 0.1 0.2

Health care and social assistance........................... 25 30 28 0.1 0.2 0.1

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 41 29 33 0.3 0.2 0.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......................... 5 3 4 0.2 0.1 0.2

Accommodation and food services.......................... 36 26 29 0.3 0.2 0.2

Other services.................................................... 3 13 5 0.1 0.2 0.1

Government.......................................................... 71 48 74 0.3 0.2 0.3

Federal............................................................. 10 9 6 0.4 0.3 0.2

State and local.................................................... 61 39 68 0.3 0.2 0.3

State and local education..................................... 40 16 40 0.4 0.2 0.4

State and local, excluding education........................ 21 23 28 0.2 0.3 0.3

REGION3

Northeast............................................................. 45 64 62 0.2 0.2 0.2

South................................................................. 155 111 148 0.3 0.2 0.3

Midwest............................................................... 86 70 93 0.3 0.2 0.3

West.................................................................. 76 94 93 0.2 0.3 0.3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

p Preliminary

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