Job Openings And Labor Turnover: February 2005 — 2005-04-12

The job openings rate was unchanged in February at 2.5 percent, while the hires and total separations rates were little changed at 3.5 and 3.1 percent, respectively, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Depart- ment of Labor reported today. This release includes estimates of the num- ber and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic region. On the last business day of February 2005, there were 3.5 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.5 percent. (See table 1.) The job openings rate has generally trended upward since September 2003. In February, the job openings rate increased for govern- ment; trade, transportation, and utilities; and education and health ser- vices. The job openings rate fell in the professional and business ser- vices sector.