Little change was seen in the job openings, hires and total separations rates in October, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics yesterday reported.
The United States had 4.2 million job openings on the last business day of the month, or 3.0 percent of the nation’s theoretical work force (that is, of the actual work force plus job openings), the BLS said. The job-openings rate was unchanged over the month and has been little-changed since November 2005.
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The rate rose in October in manufacturing, and in education and health services, but fell in trade, transportation, and utilities; rates were highest in leisure and hospitality and professional and business services, at 4.1 percent each, and education and health services, at 4.0 percent. No region had a significant month-over-month change in the openings.
Year over year, the job openings rate rose in durable manufacturing, non-durable manufacturing, information, health care and social assistance, and state and local government. It also rose in the Northeast and the West.
The hires rate nationwide was little changed at 4.9 million additions to the payroll, or 3.6 percent. The rate fell in government, and did not rise significantly in any private sector; the highest rate was leisure and hospitality’s 6.6 percent. Geographically, the hires rate did not change significantly from September’s in any region.
Year over year, the hires rate rose in finance and insurance, but fell in construction and durable manufacturing.
The rate of turnover, or total separations, was unchanged in October at 4.4 million separations, or 3.2 percent of the work force. Total separations increased in professional and business services, but decreased in government. The rate did not change significantly in any region over the month.
Year over year, the total separations rate rose in finance and insurance, and in real estate and rental and leasing; it decreased in accommodations and food services. (See tables 3 and 7.)
Total separations include quits (voluntary separations), layoffs and discharges (involuntary separations), and other separations (including retirements).
The quits rate, which can serve as a barometer of workers’ ability to change jobs, was little changed in October at 2.6 million workers, or 1.9 percent, versus September’s 1.8 percent.
The turnover rate was down from September’s in government, the BLS said, and did not rise significantly in any industry or region. The seasonally adjusted quits rate was highest, at 4.0 percent, in the leisure and hospitality industry, which also had the highest hires rate.
Year over year, the quits rate rose in finance and insurance, real estate and rental and leasing, and professional and business services; it fell in construction, accommodations and food services, and other services.
Hires and separations data help show dynamic flows in the labor market, the BLS noted. Over the 12 months ending Oct. 31, hires have averaged 4.9 million per month and separations have averaged 4.5 million per month (before seasonal adjustment); comparable figures for the prior 12-month period were 4.8 million hires and 4.6 million separations.
REGIONAL REPORT
In the Northeast – Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania – the bureau reported 786,000 job openings on the last business day of October, or 3.0 percent of the region’s theoretical work force.
That was down from the end of September’s 824,000 openings, or 3.1 percent of the work force, but higher than the year-ago 704,000 job openings, or 2.7 percent.
For all of October, the region reported 748,000 new hires, or 2.9 percent of the actual work force, edging up from September’s 718,000 hires, or 2.8 percent, to about the same as last October’s 744,000 hires, or 2.9 percent.
The gains from hiring were all but erased by October’s 736,000 separations, or 2.9 percent of the region’s total employment. That was down from September’s 766,000 separations, or 3.0 percent, and above the year-ago period’s 657,000, or 2.6 percent. But more of those separations were voluntary this October than last.
The BLS reported 358,000 resignations in the Northeast, or 1.4 percent of the work force, over the course of the month. That’s slightly below September’s quit rate of 383,000 workers, or 1.5 percent, but up from October 2005’s 341,000, or 1.4 percent.
All figures are seasonally adjusted, except where otherwise noted. Additional information, including the full, 14-page “Job Openings and Labor Turnover: October 2006,” can be found at www.bls.gov.
