Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2016-03-17

The number of job openings rose to 5.5 million on the last business day of January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires declined to 5.0 million while separations edged down to 4.9 million. Within separations, the quits rate was 2.0 percent, and the layoffs and discharges rate was 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. The release also includes 2015 annual estimates for hires and separations. The annual number of hires and quits increased in 2015, while the annual number of layoffs and discharges edged up, and the annual number of other separations was essentially unchanged. Job openings remain at historically high levels, rising to 5.5 million (+260,000) in January. The job openings rate was 3.7 percent.