Job Openings And Labor Turnover: February 2006 — 2006-04-11

The job openings, hires, and total separations rates were all essentially unchanged in February, 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 February 2006, 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 was unchanged in February but has generally trended upward since September 2003. In February, the job openings rate did not change significantly in any industry or region. The hires rate was unchanged at 3.7 percent in February. (See table 2.) Hires are any additions to the payroll during the month. Over the month, the hires rate increased in the leisure and hospitality industry. The hires rate did not change significantly in any region.