Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2008-04-08

On the last business day of February, there were 3.8 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The job openings, hires, and total separations rates were essentially unchanged in February. 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. Although the month-to-month changes in job openings, hires, and turnover data are often small, the trends over time are notable. The job openings rate remained essen- tially flat from August 2006 through September 2007 then began trending downward. The hires rate has had an overall downward trend since July 2006, and the separations rate has had an overall downward trend since November 2006. (See tables 1, 2, and 3.) In February, the job openings rate remained at 2.7 percent.