Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2019-11-05

The number of job openings edged down to 7.0 million (-277,000) on the last business day of September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires and separations were little changed at 5.9 million and 5.8 million, respectively. Within separations, the quits rate and the layoffs and discharges rate were little changed at 2.3 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry and by four geographic regions. On the last business day of September, the job openings level edged down to 7.0 million (-277,000). The job openings rate was 4.4 percent. The number of job openings edged down for total private (-262,000) and was little changed for government. The job openings level decreased in health care and social assistance (-124,000), retail trade (-102,000), and federal government (-19,000). Job openings increased in information (+25,000).