Job Openings And Labor Turnover: July 2004 — 2004-09-08

The hires rate fell in July but remained above the separations rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The hires rate was 3.2 percent in July, and the separations rate was 3.1 percent. The job openings rate edged up to 2.4 percent. This report 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 July 2004, there were 3.2 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.4 percent. (See table 1.) The job openings rate continued to remain in the range of 2.0 to 2.4 percent, as it has since October 2001. In July, the job open- ings rate increased in the trade, transportation, and utilities industry group and continued on an upward trend in leisure and hospitality.