Job Openings And Labor Turnover: December 2006 — 2007-02-06

The job openings, hires, and total separations rates were essentially unchanged in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Depart- ment of Labor reported today. Despite little month-to-month change in the hires and separations rates, there continues to be considerable churn- ing in the labor market with large numbers of hires and separations every month. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job open- ings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic region. On the last business day of December 2006, there were 4.4 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 3.2 percent. The job openings rate was little changed during the first half of 2006, but trended upward in the latter part of the year. The December rate is the highest since February 2001.