14  Monthly Labor Review • May 20

Job Openings and Labor Turnover

Job openings, hires, and turnover

decrease in 2007

Although the number of job openings, hires, and separations 

all declined in 2007, the current labor market slowdown

can be seen most in the decrease in hiring; at the industry level, 

the job openings rate and hires rate declined in several industries, 

while the separations rate was either unchanged or inconsistent, 

with no discernible trend

Zhi Boon

Zhi Boon is an

economist in

the Division of

Administrative

Statistics and Labor

Turnover, Office of

Employment and

Unemployment

Statistics, Bureau of

Labor Statistics.

The U.S. labor market slowed considerably in the latter portion of 2007, as indicated by increasing unemployment1

 and slowing job growth.2 Data 

from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover 

Survey (JOLTS)

3

 also reflect a labor market 

slowdown in 2007, as job openings—a measure of labor demand—and hires and separations—measures of worker flows—decreased over the year.

After reaching a low point in September 

2003, the job openings level displayed an 

overall upward trend through January 2007, 

when it reached a post-recession high of 4.3 

million openings on the last business day of 

the month, the highest level since February 

2001. After the January 2007 high point, 

the job openings level generally trended 

downward for 7 months, then fell in 3 of the 

last 4 months of the year. The end-of-year 

labor demand—as measured by the number 

of openings on the last business day of the 

year—was down as well, with 298,000 fewer 

openings in 2007 than in 2006. 

Trends in the 2007 hires and separations 

data also reflect a labor market slowdown, 

with businesses responding to weaker demand by hiring fewer workers, rather than by 

laying off more workers, whereas in previous 

labor market slowdowns, layoffs typically 

have increased.4 The hires level throughout 

2007 continued the overall decreasing trend 

that began after the series reached a high of 

5.1 million in July 2006. The total separations level also trended downward in 2007, 

although not as rapidly as hires. The total 

separations level began an overall decreasing 

trend after reaching a series high point in 

May 2006. Quits—the largest component of 

separations5—began to decrease in 2006 and 

continued a decreasing trend through 2007. 

As in the past, the number of quits trended 

similarly to the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index. (See chart 1.) The 

number of layoffs and discharges—which 

make up a smaller percentage of total separations than quits—finished the year at 1.8 

million, unchanged from December 2006.

These three JOLTS measures—openings, 

hires, and separations—capture subtle changes in employers’ and employees’ behavior and 

expectations and thus provide valuable insight 

into the dynamics of the U.S. labor market. 

However, because the JOLTS data time series 

are relatively short—they begin at the end 

of 2000—the full analytical potential of the 

data has not yet been realized. This article 

discusses the trends in these data from 2001 

to 2007, with emphasis on the changes from 

2006 to 2007.
Monthly Labor Review • May 2008  

Job openings

Historically, the number of job openings in the private 

sector has generally trended closely with total private 

sector employment, as measured by the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey. (See charts 2 and 3.) Beginning in early 2007, however, the trends in employment 

and job openings diverged, with employment continuing 

to rise while job openings started to fall. These deviating 

trends suggest that employers might have attempted to 

reduce costs by posting fewer job openings.

Although job openings for the entire U.S. economy 

and for the private sector exhibited decreases through 

2007, what is seen across industries is mixed. For example, the job openings rate decreased throughout the year 

in the following industries: trade, transportation, and 

utilities; retail trade; and construction. Before it began 

to decline, the job openings rate in construction reached 

a series high of 3.0 percent in February 2007. The job 

openings rate increased over the year in just one industry, 

accommodation and food services, which has shown a 

gradually rising rate since 2003. At 4.9 percent in September, the rate in this industry reached a high not seen 

since prior to the 2001 recession. The job openings rates 

in the remaining industries were little changed during 

the year.

Historically, not seasonally adjusted data show that arts, 

entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food 

services; and professional and business services typically 

have the highest job openings rates. In 2007, however, the 

information industry had the highest job openings rate 

during the year, at 4.8 percent in February. The high rate 

in information was not sustained, though, and by the end 

of the year it had dropped to 2.2 percent.

Across the regions, the 2007 job openings rate was 

highest in the West and exhibited decreasing trends in 

the second half of the year in the Northeast and West. 

The job openings rate was basically static over the year in 

the South and Midwest regions.

Hires and quits

Similar to the job openings data, the private sector hires 

and quits levels trended closely with the CES employment 

level until early 2006, when the series began to diverge, 

with hires and quits starting to level off as employment 

 Chart 1. Total nonfarm quits levels (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey), seasonally adjusted, 

and the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, 2001–07

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

Quits level (in thousands) Consumer Confidence Index

Consumer Confidence Index

Quits level

NOTE: Shaded area represents recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER
Job Openings and Labor Turnover

16  Monthly Labor Review • May 20

 Chart 2. Total private job openings (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) and total private 

employment (Current Employment Statistics survey), seasonally adjusted, 2001–07

120,000

117,500

115,000

112,500

110,000

107,500

105,000

102,500

100,000

Job openings

(in thousands)

Employment

(in thousands)

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Total private employment

NOTE: Shaded area represents recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER

8,000

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0

Total private job openings

 Chart 3. Total private hires (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) and total private employment 

(Current Employment Statistics survey), seasonally adjusted, 2001–07

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

NOTE: Shaded area represents recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER

Total private hires

8,000

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0

120,000

117,500

115,000

112,500

110,000

107,500

105,000

102,500

100,000

Total private employment

Hires

(in thousands)

Employment

(in thousands)
Monthly Labor Review • May 2008  

continued to grow. (See charts 2 and 3.) The divergence 

of hires from employment, which began in the early 

months of 2006, suggests that employers slowed down 

their hiring, but not to the extent that it caused CES private sector employment to decline. The trend in quits began to deviate from the CES employment trend near the 

end of 2005, and it began to decrease late in 2006. This 

suggests that workers reacted to economic uncertainty by 

holding onto their current jobs. The decreased number 

of quits is consistent with the decreased number of job 

openings, as fewer job openings limit the prospects of 

moving to a new job.

For both hires and separations, most industries exhibited large month-to-month changes in rates but no consistent trends. Education and health services and State 

and local government were both static during the year. 

The hires rate in accommodation and food services exhibited a decreasing trend throughout the year—its first 

decreasing trend since its post-recession low in March 

2003. The hires rates in retail trade and in trade, transportation, and utilities continued their downward trends 

that began in 2006, with retail trade reaching its low 

point during the year in May, at 3.9 percent, the lowest 

it has been since July 2003. The hires rate in professional 

and business services also reached a series low point during the year in August, at 4.3 percent, the lowest it has 

been since February 2004. In construction, the hires rate 

reached a series low in February, at 3.6 percent.

The number of quits, which make up the majority of 

total separations, showed no clear trends in any industry. 

Still, in construction and in accommodation and food 

services, the quits rate reached series lows. Quits as a 

percentage of total separations—an indicator of employees’ confidence in their ability to change jobs—declined 

in 2007 to a monthly average of 56.9 percent. In the last 

4 months of the year, the series exhibited large monthto-month swings, sometimes as high as 3.9 percentage 

points. (See chart 4.) Over the course of the year, as the 

economy softened, the ratio fell from a high of 59 percent early in the year to a low of 54 percent later in the 

year. The only industry that showed a consistent trend 

through the year was professional and business services, 

in which the ratio of quits to total separations declined by 

12.9 percentage points. Compared with 2006, the average 

monthly ratio of quits to separations in 2007 decreased 

for almost all industries, most notably construction, in 

which the ratio decreased by 5.3 percentage points.

Regionally, the only area that exhibited a consistent 

 Chart 4. Quits as a percentage of total separations (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) in total 

nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted, 2001–07

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Percent Percent

70

65

60

55

50

45

40

NOTE: Shaded area represents recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER

70

65

60

55

50

45

40
Job Openings and Labor Turnover

18  Monthly Labor Review • May 20

trend in 2007 was the Midwest, where the ratio decreased 

from 60 percent at the start of the year to 53 percent 

at the end of the year. The ratio also declined from the 

previous year in the Northeast and South regions and 

showed no change in the West.

Unmet labor demand

Given the reference periods for the data—job openings 

data are referenced to the last business day of the month 

and hires data cover the entire month—one would normally expect the hires rate to exceed the job openings rate. 

Yet, in several industries the opposite occurs, indicating 

that the demand for labor might be greater than the supply of labor, or that a shortage of labor exists. It appears 

that employers in these industries may be having difficulty 

finding qualified workers who are willing to fill the job 

openings at the prevailing wage rate. Another possible 

explanation for the higher openings rate in some industries is that employers are leaving vacancy announcements 

open as they become more selective in the actual hiring of 

employees. As in the previous year, in 2007, the job openings rate exceeded the hires rate in finance and insurance, 

in health care and social assistance, and in State and local 

government. For 2007, the information sector also exhibited potential unmet labor demand, averaging a monthly 

job openings rate of 3.8 percent and a hires rate of 2.2 

percent. (See chart 5.)

Annual hires and separations

After increasing—although at a decreasing rate—for 3 

consecutive years, the 2007 annual hires rate decreased by 

1.5 percentage points to 42 percent. (See table 1; tables are 

collected at the end of the article.) The largest decreases in 

the annual hires rate occurred in construction, retail trade; 

transportation, warehousing, and utilities; real estate and 

rental and leasing; professional and business services; and 

information. The largest increases in the 2007 annual hires 

rate occurred in natural resources and mining; wholesale 

trade; finance and insurance; and Federal Government.

The 2007 annual total separations rate decreased for the 

second consecutive year—by 0.9 percentage point, to 39.7 

percent. (See table 2.) The majority of industries exhibited 

decreases in the annual total separations rate. Exceptions 

to this were natural resources and mining; durable goods 

 Chart 5. Industries in which the average monthly job openings rate exceeds the average monthly hires rate, 

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, 2007

Percent Percent

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

Average monthly job openings rate Average monthly hires rate

Health care

and social

assistance

Total nonfarm Information Finance

and

insurance

State and

local

government
Monthly Labor Review • May 2008  

1 James Marschall Borbely, “Household survey indicators weaken in 

2007,” Monthly Labor Review, March 2008, pp. 3–18; on the Internet 

at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2008/03/art1full.pdf (visited May 

15, 2008).

2Robyn J. Richards, “Payroll employment in 2007: job growth slows,” 

Monthly Labor Review, March 2008, pp. 19–31; on the Internet at http://

www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2008/03/art2full.pdf (visited May 15, 2008).

3The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) provides 

measures of job openings, hires, and separations on a monthly basis, by 

industry and region, from December 2000 forward. JOLTS is a monthly 

survey of approximately 16,000 nonfarm business establishments and 

is benchmarked to the BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey. Job openings are measured as the number of positions open at an 

manufacturing; finance and insurance; and Federal Government, all of which exhibited significant increases in annual total separations rates.

Layoffs and discharges and other separations, which are 

components of total separations, exhibited small changes 

in their annual rates compared with their 2006 rates. (See 

tables 3 and 4.) The annual layoffs and discharges rate increased 0.5 percentage point from 2006 to 2007. Compared 

with the 2006 industry rates, the annual layoffs and discharges rate increased across the majority of industries with 

the largest increases occurring in the following industries: 

natural resources and mining; durable goods manufacturing; wholesale trade; information; finance and insurance; 

and educational services. The annual other separations rate 

in 2007 decreased from the previous year by 0.3 percentage 

point, which equates to 359,000 other separations. A few 

industries experienced an increase in the annual other separations rate from 2006 to 2007, with the most significant 

increase occurring in Federal government, which increased 

by 3.7 percentage points. This high rate of other separations 

(which includes retirements) in the Federal Government 

might be attributable to the fact that increasing numbers of 

baby boomers are retiring from the Federal Government. 

THE LEVELS OF JOB OPENINGS, HIRES and separations 

all decreased in 2007, but the labor market slowdown 

mostly reflected the decrease in hiring. At the industry 

level, the job openings rate and hires rate declined in several industries, while the separations rate was either static 

or did not exhibit consistent trends in the industries.

Notes

establishment on the last business day of the reference month. Hires 

and separations are measured as the number of additions and subtractions from an establishment’s payroll for the entire month. Data by 

type of separation are also available and consist of quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (involuntary separations), and other 

separations (such as retirements, transfers, and death).

4Kelly Evans, “Slower Hiring, Not Layoffs, Hurts Labor Market,” 

Wall Street Journal, Feb. 13, 2008; on the Internet at http://online.wsj.

com/article/SB120285948548463683.html (visited May 15, 2008).

5Kelly A. Clark, “The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey: 

what initial data show,” Monthly Labor Review, November 2004, pp. 

14–23; on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2004/11/

art2full.pdf (visited May 15, 2008).
Job Openings and Labor Turnover

20  Monthly Labor Review • May 20

 

           

Total .................................................................. 43.5 42.0 – 1.5 – 3.4 59,158 57,778 –1,380 – 2.3

Total private ................................................. 47.9 46.1 – 1.8 – 3.8 54,612 53,158 –1,454 – 

        Natural resources and mining .......... 35.4 39.7 4.3 12.1 242 2

        Construction ........................................... 58.9 54.5 – 4.4 – 7.5 4,530 4,151 –379 –

        Manufacturing........................................ 30.3 30.8 .5 1.7 4,282 4,27

          Durable goods..................................... 28.3 27.6 – .7 –2.5 2,545 2,437 –108

          Nondurable goods............................. 33.7 36.2 2.5 7.4 1,742 1,8

        Trade, transportation, and

          utilities.................................................... 48.2 44.5 – 3.7 – 7.7 12,669 11,843 –826 – 6.5

          Wholesale trade.................................. 27.4 32.4 5.0 18.2 1,618 1,955 33

          Retail trade............................................ 58.4 53.1 – 5.3 – 9.1 8,964 8,219 –745 –

          Transportation, warehousing,

and utilities........................................ 41.6 32.8 – 8.8 –21.2 2,087 1,66

        Information.............................................. 31.8 26.6 – 5.2 –16.4 965 807 –1

        Financial activities................................. 30.1 31.7 1.6 5.3 2,505 2,63

          Finance and insurance...................... 25.9 29.3 3.4 13.1 1,597 1,804 20

          Real estate and rental and

leasing................................................. 41.9 38.4 – 3.5 – 8.4 909 

        Professional and business

          services................................................... 62.6 57.8 – 4.8 – 7.7 10,989 10,379 –610 –5.6

        Education and health services.......... 33.0 32.8 – .2 – .6 5,888 6,009 12

          Educational services.......................... 29.0 29.9 .9 3.1 842

          Health care and social

assistance........................................... 33.8 33.3 – .5 –1.5 5,042 

        Leisure and hospitality ........................ 79.2 79.1 – .1 –.1 10,388 10,661 273 2

          Arts, entertainment, and

recreation........................................... 80.1 82.5 2.4 3.0 1,

          Accommodations and food

services............................................... 79.1 78.5 – .6 –.8 8,843 

        Other services......................................... 39.6 38.5 – 1.1 – 2.8 2,152 2,114 –38 

    Government ................................................. 20.7 20.8 .1 .5 4,546 4

        Federal....................................................... 24.9 32.0 7.1 28.5 680 87

        State and local........................................ 20.1 19.2 – .9 –4.5 3,866 3,749 –117 

        Northeast ................................................. 35.9 33.9 – 2.0 – 5.6 9,102 8,680 –422 –

        South ......................................................... 47.6 45.6 – 2.0 –4.2 23,327 22,616 –711 –3.0

        Midwest.................................................... 40.4 41.2 .8 2.0 12,589 12,955 3

        West............................................................ 46.3 43.7 – 2.6 –5.6 14,140 13,527 –613 –4.3

Table 1.

Table 1.

Rate (percent)

2007

Levels (in thousands)

Industry and region

Annual hires rates and levels, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), 2006–07

Change

Percent

2006 change 2006 2007 Change

Percent

change

1 The four regions are defined as follows: The Northeast region

comprises Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,

New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; the

South region comprises Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of

Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virgini

and West Virginia; the Midwest region comprises Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,

Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohi

South Dakota, and Wisconsin; the West region comprises Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,

Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

NOTE: The annual hires rate is the number of hires during the enti

year as a percent of annual average employment. The annual hires level is

the total number of hires during the entire year.
Monthly Labor Review • May 2008  

 

           

Total................................................................... 40.6 39.7 – 0.9 –2.2 55,199 54,641 –558 –1.0

 Total private.................................................. 5.1 44.1 –1.0 – 2.2 51,492 50,925 –567 –1.1

        Natural resources and mining .......... 32.0 38.0 6.0 18.8 219 2

        Construction ........................................... 60.6 56.3 – 4.3 – 7.1 4,657 4,285 –372 

        Manufacturing........................................ 31.4 33.2 1.8 5.7 4,442 4,61

          Durable goods..................................... 28.3 31.0 2.7 9.5 2,546 2,73

          Nondurable goods............................. 36.6 37.1 .5 1.4 1,894 1,880

        Trade, transportation, and utilities.. 45.8 44.6 – 1.2 – 2.6 12,031 11,859 –172 –1.4

          Wholesale trade.................................. 29.3 31.3 2.0 6.8 1,732 1,88

          Retail trade............................................ 55.7 53.6 – 2.1 – 3.8 8,559 8,301 –258 

          Transportation, warehousing,

and utilities....................................... 34.7 32.9 – 1.8 – 5.2 1,739 

        Information.............................................. 31.1 27.2 – 3.9 –12.5 945 824 –1

        Financial activities................................. 30.6 31.3 .7 2.3 2,545 2,

          Finance and insurance...................... 26.2 28.4 2.2 8.4 1,613 1,74

          Real estate and rental and leasing 42.9 39.7 – 3.2 – 7.5 931 858 

        Professional and businessservices... 55.9 54.0 – 1.9 – 3.4 9,824 9,709 –115 

        Education and health services.......... 28.5 28.0 – .5 –1.8 5,078 5,131 5

          Educational services.......................... 23.3 24.2 .9 3.9 677

          Health care and social assistance... 29.5 28.7 – .8 –2.7 4,403 4,417 

        Leisure and hospitality ........................ 74.5 71.6 – 2.9 –3.9 9,762 9,643 –119 

          Arts, entertainment, and

recreation........................................... 71.9 71.7 – .2 – .3 1,386 

          Accommodations and food

services............................................... 74.9 71.5 – 3.4 – 4.5 8,379 8,2

        Other services......................................... 36.6 36.2 – .4 – 1.1 1,988 1,988

    Government ................................................. 16.9 16.7 – .2 –1.2 3,707 3,7

        Federal....................................................... 24.0 27.1 3.1 12.9 656 7

        State and local........................................ 15.9 15.3 – .6 – 3.8 3,051 2,978 –73

        Northeast ................................................. 33.5 31.5 –2.0 –6.0 8,483 8,076 -407 –

        South ......................................................... 44.2 42.9 –1.3 – 2.9 21,661 21,289 –372 –1.7

        Midwest.................................................... 38.8 38.1 – .7 –1.8 12,103 11,974 –129 –1.1

        West............................................................ 42.4 43.0 .6 1.4 12,953 13,298 3

Table 1.

Table 2.

Rate (percent)

2007

Levels (in thousands)

Industry and region

Annual total separations rates and levels, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), 2006–07

Change

Percent

2006 change 2006 2007 Change

Percent

change

1 The four regions are defined as follows: The Northeast region

comprises Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,

New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; the

South region comprises Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of

Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virgini

and West Virginia; the Midwest region comprises Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,

Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohi

South Dakota, and Wisconsin; the West region comprises Alaska, Arizona,

California,Colorado,Hawaii, Idaho, Montana,Nevada,New Mexico,Oregon,

Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

NOTE: Theannualtotalseparationsrateisthenumberoftotalseparati

during the entire year as a percent of annual average employment. The

annual totalseparationslevel isthe total number ofseparations during the

entire year.
Job Openings and Labor Turnover

22  Monthly Labor Review • May 20

1 The four regions are defined as follows: The Northeast region

comprises Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; the South

region comprises Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia,

Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North

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

Virginia; the Midwest region comprises Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,

Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Sou

Dakota, and Wisconsin; the West region comprises Alaska, Arizona,

 

           

 Total ............................................................... 13.8 14.3 0.5 3.6 18,792 19,674 8

      Total private................................................ 15.4 16.0 .6 3.9 17,578 18,505 9

          Natural resources and mining......... 9.5 11.8 2.3 24.2 65 

          Construction ........................................ 31.0 32.4 1.4 4.5 2,382 2,4

          Manufacturing..................................... 12.0 13.4 1.4 11.7 1,700 1,867 

            Durable goods................................ 10.5 13.1 2.6 24.8 946 1,154 

            Nondurable goods........................ 14.7 14.2 – .5 – 3.4 758 717

          Trade, transportation, and

utilities................................................. 14.1 14.8 .7 5.0 3,

            Wholesale trade.............................. 9.8 12.5 2.7 27.6 581 

            Retail trade ....................................... 16.6 16.5 – .1 – .6 2,548 2

            Transportation, warehousing,

and utilities.................................... 11.6 12.5 .9 7

          Information........................................... 6.6 7.8 1.2 18.2 199 

          Financial activities.............................. 9.3 10.3 1.0 10.8 774 

            Finance and insurance ................. 6.6 8.2 1.6 24.2 409 504 95 23.2

            Real estate and rental and

leasing............................................. 16.7 16.3 – .4 – 2.4 3

          Professional and business

services................................................ 21.8 22.8 1.0 4.6 3,8

          Education and health services....... 7.9 8.3 .4 5.1 1,414 1

            Educational services...................... 9.3 11.2 1.9 20.4 270 

            Health care and social

assistance....................................... 7.7 7.8 .1 1.3

          Leisure and hospitality ..................... 21.4 20.8 – .6 –2.8 2,807 2,797 –1

            Arts, entertainment, and

recreation....................................... 40.8 40.7 – .1 – .

            Accommodations and food

services........................................... 18.1 17.3 – .8 –4.4 2,019 

          Other services...................................... 13.0 11.9 – 1.1 – 8.5 705 652 –

    Government ................................................. 5.5 5.3 – .2 – 3.6 1,215 1,171

          Federal.................................................... 6.7 7.5 .8 11.9 184

          State and local..................................... 5.4 5.0 – .4 – 7.4 1,031 9

 Northeast .............................................. 12.7 13.0 .3 2.4 3,220 3,3

          South ...................................................... 13.2 14.1 .9 6.8 6,476 6,9

          Midwest................................................. 14.1 14.4 .3 2.1 4,404 4,5

          West......................................................... 15.4 15.5 .1 .6 4,694 4,

Table 1.

Table 3.

Rate (percent)

2007

Levels (in thousands)

Industry and region

Annual layoffs and discharges rates and levels, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), 2006–07

Change

Percent

2006 change 2006 2007 Change

Percent

change

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,

Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

NOTE: The annual layoffs and discharges rate is the number of layof

and discharges during the entire year as a percent of annual average

employment. The annual layoffs and discharges level is the total numb

of layoffs and discharges during the entire yea
Monthly Labor Review • May 2008  

 

           

    Total ................................................................. 3.1 2.8 – 0 .3 – 9.7 4,227 3,868 –359

      Total private................................................ 3.1 2.7 – .4 –12.9 3,563 3,088 –4

          Natural resources and mining ....... 4.5 4.1 – .4 –8.9 31 

          Construction ........................................ 3.7 2.7 –1.0 –27.0 285 203

          Manufacturing..................................... 2.7 2.6 – .1 –3.7 376 

            Durable goods................................ 2.8 2.6 – .2 – 7.1 252 

            Nondurable goods........................ 2.4 2.5 .1 4.2 

          Trade, transportation, and utilities. 3.8 3.4 – .4 –10.5 995 8

            Wholesale trade.............................. 3.1 1.9 –1.2 –38.7 183 116

            Retail trade ....................................... 4.0 3.8 – .2 – 5.0 615 

            Transportation, warehousing,

and utilities......................... 4.0 3.9 – .1 

          Information........................................... 2.4 2.9 .5 20.8 

          Financial activities.............................. 2.9 2.5 – .4 –13.8 239 2

 Finance and insurance ................. 2.9 2.3 – .6 –20.7 180 1

            Real estate and rental and

leasing............................................. 2.7 3.1 .4

          Professional and business

services................................................ 4.1 2.9 –1.2 –29.3 7

          Education and health services....... 2.1 2.1 .0 .0 

            Educational services...................... 1.5 1.4 – .1 – 6.7 43 

            Health care and social

assistance....................................... 2.2 2.2 .

          Leisure and hospitality ..................... 2.2 2.1 – .1 – 4.5 28

            Arts, entertainment, and

recreation....................................... 2.0 2.3 .3 1

            Accommodations and food

services........................................... 2.2 2.1 – .1 –4.5 

          Other services...................................... 3.4 2.2 –1.2 –35.3 183 119

      Government............................................... 3.0 3.5 .5 16.7 663 

          Federal.................................................... 6.6 10.3 3.7 56.1 180 

          State and local..................................... 2.5 2.6 .1 4.0 4

          Northeast .............................................. 3.0 2.8 – .2 – 6.7 757 

          South ...................................................... 3.2 2.6 – .6 –18.8 1,557 1,285 –2

          Midwest................................................. 3.0 2.8 – .2 –6.7 943 

          West......................................................... 3.2 3.2 .0 .0 

Table 1.

Table 4.

Rate (percent)

2007

Levels (in thousands)

Industry and region

Annual other separations rates and levels, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), 2006–07

Change

Percent

2006 change 2006 2007 Change

Percent

change

1 The four regions are defined as follows: The Northeast region

comprises Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; the South

region comprises Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia,

Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North

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

Virginia; the Midwest region comprises Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,

Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Sou

Dakota, and Wisconsin; the West region comprises Alaska, Arizona,

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,

Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

NOTE: The annual other separations rate is the number of oth

separations during the entire year as a percent of annual average

employment. The annual other separations level is the total number of

otherseparations during the entire year.