BLS Report: April job openings reach series high; total separations increase and hires little change
Related:
Wed Jan 27, 2021: BLS Report: Gross job losses 20.4 million and gross job gains 5.7 million in the 2nd quarter of 2020
People come; people go.
This is JOLTS, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. It comes out a few days after the monthly payroll employment report.
The number of quits indicates how confident people are of finding another job if they leave the one they have.
Previous reports:
Tue May 11, 2021: BLS Report: March job openings reach a series high; hires and total separations little changed
Tue Apr 6, 2021: BLS Report: Job openings and hires edge up in February; total separations little changed
Fri Mar 12, 2021: BLS Report: Total separations decrease in January; job openings and hires change little
Tue Feb 9, 2021: BLS Report: Job openings and total separations little changed in December; hires decrease
Tue Jan 12, 2021: BLS Report: Job openings and hires little changed in November; total separations increase
Wed Dec 9, 2020: BLS Report: Job openings (6.7 million) and hires little changed; separations increase in October
Thu Nov 12, 2020: BLS Report: Job openings (6.4 million), hires, and separations little changed in September
Tue Oct 6, 2020: BLS Report: Job openings and hires little changed in August; total separations decrease
Thu Sep 10, 2020: BLS Report: Job openings rise in July, hires decrease, and total separations little changed
Wed Aug 12, 2020: BLS Report: Hires decrease in June; job openings, quits, and total separations rise
Tue Jul 7, 2020: BLS Report: Hires increase 2.4 million in May; job openings rise while layoffs and discharges fall
Wed Jun 10, 2020: BLS Report: Total separations fall in April to 9.9 million; job openings and hires also fall
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April job openings reach series high; total separations increase and hires little changed
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary
For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Technical information: (202) 691-5870 • JoltsInfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/jlt
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov
JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER – APRIL 2021
The number of job openings reached a series high of 9.3 million on the last business day of April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires were little changed at 6.1 million. Total separations increased to 5.8 million. Within separations, the quits rate reached a series high of 2.7 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, by four geographic regions, and by establishment size class.
Job Openings
On the last business day of April, the job openings level and rate increased to series highs of 9.3 million (+998,000) and 6.0 percent, respectively. The job openings series began in December 2000. Job openings increased in a number of industries with the largest increases in accommodation and food services (+349,000), other services (+115,000), and durable goods manufacturing (+78,000). The number of job openings decreased in educational services (-23,000) and in mining and logging (-8,000). The number of job openings increased in all four regions. (See table 1.)
Hires
In April, the number of hires changed little at 6.1 million. The hires rate was unchanged at 4.2 percent. Hires increased in accommodation and food services (+232,000) and in federal government (+10,000). Hires decreased in construction (-107,000), durable goods manufacturing (-37,000), and educational services (-32,000). The number of hires was little changed in all four regions. (See table 2.)
Separations
Total separations includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations includes separations due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm.
In April, the number of total separations increased to 5.8 million (+324,000). The total separations rate was little changed at 4.0 percent. The total separations level increased in retail trade (+116,000) and in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+60,000). Total separations increased in the West region. (See table 3.)
In April, the quits level and rate increased to series highs of 4.0 million and 2.7 percent, respectively. Quits increased in a number of industries with the largest increases in retail trade (+106,000), professional and business services (+94,000), and transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+49,000). The number of quits increased in the South, Midwest, and West regions. (See table 4.)
In April, the number and rate of layoffs and discharges were little changed at 1.4 million and 1.0 percent, respectively. Both the number and rate reached new series lows. The number of layoffs and discharges decreased in finance and insurance (-24,000). Layoffs and discharges were little changed in all four regions. (See table 5.)
The number of other separations was little changed in April at 364,000. Other separations increased in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+16,000) and in durable goods manufacturing (+7,000). The other separations level was little changed in all four regions. (See table 6.)
Net Change in Employment
Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout the business cycle. Net employment change results from the relationship between hires and separations. When the number of hires exceeds the number of separations, employment rises, even if the hires level is steady or declining. Conversely, when the number of hires is less than the number of separations, employment declines, even if the hires level is steady or rising.
Over the 12 months ending in April, hires totaled 75.4 million and separations totaled 64.0 million, yielding a net employment gain of 11.3 million. These totals include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.
Establishment Size Class
In April, the job openings rate increased in small establishments with 10-49 employees and large establishments with 250-999 employees, 1,000-4,999 employees, and 5,000 or more employees. The total separations rate for large establishments with 250-999 employees increased in April. The quits rate increased in small establishments with 10-49 employees and large establishments of 250-999 employees. The layoffs and discharges rate decreased in large establishments with 1,000-4,999 employees. For a more in-depth description of the JOLTS establishment size class estimates, please visit www.bls.gov/jlt/sizeclassmethodology.htm.
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The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for May 2021 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 7, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
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