Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2008-09-09

On the last business day of July, there were 3.4 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.4 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The job openings rate and total separations rate were little changed in July, while the hires rate decreased slightly. 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 essentially flat from August 2006 through September 2007 followed by an overall downward trend through July 2008. The hires rate has trended downward since July 2006. At 3.0 percent in two of the last three months, the hires rate is at the lowest level since May 2003.