Job Openings And Labor Turnover: March 2006 — 2006-05-09

The job openings, hires, and total separations rates showed little or no change in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. 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. On the last business day of March 2006, there were 4.0 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.9 percent. The job openings rate was unchanged over the month but has generally trended upward since September 2003. In March, the job openings rates decreased in leisure and hospitality and in the Midwest. The industries with the highest seasonally adjusted job openings rates in March 2006 were professional and business services (3.8 percent), education and health services (3.7 percent), and leisure and hospitality (3.5 percent).