Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2008-03-12

On the last business day of January, there were 3.9 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.8 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The job open- ings, hires, and total separations rates were essentially unchanged in January. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic region. This release also includes annual estimates for hires and separations. The annual hires rate decreased in 2007 while the turnover, or separations, rate was little changed. Although the over-the-month changes in job openings, hires, and turnover data were small, the over-the-year changes were significant. From January 2007 to January 2008, the job openings, hires, quits, and total separations rates all fell significantly for both the total nonfarm and total private sectors.