Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2011-07-12

There were 3.0 million job openings on the last business day of May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The hires rate (3.1 percent) and separations rate (3.1 percent) were again 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 by geographic region. Job Openings The number of job openings in May was 3.0 million, unchanged from April. (See table 1.) The number of job openings in May was 862,000 higher than in July 2009 (the series trough) but remains well below the 4.4 million openings when the recession began in December 2007. The number of job openings in May (not seasonally adjusted) rose over the last 12 months for total private as the number of job openings rose in durable goods manufacturing; transportation, warehousing, and utilities; information; and healthcare and social assistance.