Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2009-11-10

On the last business day of September, the number of job openings in the U.S. was little changed at 2.5 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The hires rate (3.1 percent) and the separations rate (3.3 percent) were unchanged and remained low in September. 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 September at a rate of 1.9 percent. The number of job openings has fallen by 2.3 million, or 48 percent, since the most recent peak in June 2007. The job openings rate decreased in state and local government in September and was little changed in the remaining industries. The job openings rate increased in the Midwest.