Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2008-06-10

On the last business day of April, there were 3.7 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The job openings, hires, and total separations rates were essentially unchanged in April. This release in- cludes 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 then began trending down- ward; in March and April, the rate has been at the lowest point since mid-2005. The hires rate had an overall downward trend from July 2006 through March 2008, reaching the lowest point since 2004.