Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2009-06-09

On the last business day of April, job openings in the U.S. numbered 2.5 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The job openings level was at its lowest point since the series began in December 2000. The hires rate (3.1 percent) was unchanged in April and remained low. The total separations rate (3.6 percent) was little changed over the month. 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. Job Openings The job openings rate was unchanged in April at 1.9 percent. Since June 2007, the number of job openings has trended downward by 2.3 million, or 47 percent. In April, small declines in the job openings rate occurred in most industries; none of these declines were statistically significant.