Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2019-12-17

The number of job openings edged up to 7.3 million (+235,000) on the last business day of October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires and separations were little changed at 5.8 million and 5.6 million, respectively. Within separations, the quits rate was unchanged at 2.3 percent and the layoffs and discharges rate was little changed at 1.2 percent. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry and by four geographic regions. On the last business day of October, the job openings level edged up to 7.3 million (+235,000). The job openings rate edged up to 4.6 percent. The largest increases in job openings levels were in retail trade (+125,000), finance and insurance (+56,000), and durable goods manufacturing (+50,000). The largest decreases in job openings were in nondurable goods manufacturing (-36,000), information (-33,000), and arts, entertainment, and recreation (-26,000).