Job Openings And Labor Turnover: April 2005 — 2005-06-07

The job openings rate was essentially unchanged in April at 2.7 percent, while the hires rate decreased to 3.4 percent, and the total separations rate was unchanged at 3.4 percent, 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 April 2005, there were 3.7 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.7 percent. (See table 1.) The job openings rate was little changed in April, but has generally trended upward since September 2003. In April, the job openings rate decreased in the construction sector and increased in professional and business services. The job openings rate did not change significantly in any of the regions.