Job Openings And Labor Turnover: December 2005 — 2006-02-07

The job openings, hires, and total separations rates were all essentially unchanged in December, 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 December 2005, there were 4.1 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.9 percent. (See table 1.) The job openings rate did not change significantly in December but has generally trended upward since September 2003. In Decem- ber, the job openings rate increased in professional and business services and in the West region, but decreased in manufacturing. The hires rate was little changed at 3.4 percent in December. (See table 2.) Hires are any additions to the payroll during the month.