Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2010-01-12

There were 2.4 million job openings on the last business day of November 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The job openings rate was little changed over the month at 1.8 percent. The openings rate has held relatively steady since March 2009. The hires rate (3.2 percent) and the separations rate (3.3 percent) were essentially unchanged in November. 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. The job openings rate was little changed in November at 1.8 percent. After falling steeply from mid-2007 through February 2009, the job openings rate has been steady at 1.8 percent or 1.9 percent since March 2009. The number of job openings fell by 2.3 million from the most recent peak in June 2007 to April 2009 but has declined by only 98,000 since.