Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release — 2020-10-06

The number of job openings was little changed at 6.5 million on the last business day of August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires were little changed at 5.9 million in August. Total separations decreased to 4.6 million. Within separations, the quits rate was little changed at 2.0 percent while the layoffs and discharges rate decreased to a series low of 1.0 percent. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by four geographic regions. The number of job openings in August (not seasonally adjusted) decreased over the year to 6.6 million (-685,000) reflecting the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market. Job openings increased over the year for federal government reflecting recruitment efforts related to the 2020 Census. Nondurable goods manufacturing job openings also grew since August 2019.