Job Openings And Labor Turnover: November 2004 — 2005-01-12

The job openings rate edged down in November, while the hires rate increased and the total separations rate remained unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The job openings rate decreased slightly to 2.4 percent. The hires rate in- creased to 3.6 percent; the total separations rate was unchanged at 3.1 per- cent. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job open- ings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic region. On the last business day of November 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 edged down in November, although it has followed a generally upward trend since August 2003. In November, the job openings rate decreased in government; manufacturing; and trade, trans- portation, and utilities.