For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, May 8, 2012 USDL-12-0892
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 – March 2012
There were 3.7 million job openings on the last business day of March,
little changed from February but up significantly from a year earlier,
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The hires rate
(3.3 percent) and separations rate (3.1 percent) were unchanged in
March. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job
openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry
and by geographic region.
Job Openings
The number of job openings in March was 3.7 million, little changed
from February. (See table 1.) Job openings increased in the
manufacturing sector. The number of total nonfarm job openings has
increased by 1.3 million since the end of the recession in June 2009.
The number of job openings in March (not seasonally adjusted)
increased over the year for total nonfarm, total private, and
government. Job openings increased over the year for durable goods
manufacturing, nondurable goods manufacturing, retail trade, health
care and social assistance, and state and local government. Job
openings in the Midwest and South regions increased over the year.
(See table 5.)
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally
adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Job openings | Hires | Total separations
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Industry | Mar. | Feb. | Mar. | Mar. | Feb. | Mar. | Mar. | Feb. | Mar.
| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p
-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............|3,189 |3,565 |3,737 |4,293 |4,444 |4,356 |3,988 |4,124 |4,153
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..|2,865 |3,163 |3,361 |4,037 |4,128 |4,049 |3,730 |3,823 |3,853
Construction.....| 70 | 73 | 96 | 357 | 318 | 286 | 341 | 317 | 282
Manufacturing....| 239 | 271 | 326 | 270 | 260 | 257 | 246 | 235 | 225
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and | | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)....| 515 | 584 | 619 | 846 | 815 | 823 | 793 | 780 | 842
Retail trade....| 281 | 365 | 389 | 584 | 551 | 546 | 561 | 543 | 579
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services........| 609 | 710 | 729 | 922 | 973 | 905 | 796 | 850 | 833
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices(3)........| 590 | 655 | 668 | 464 | 527 | 515 | 437 | 458 | 472
Health care | | | | | | | | |
and social | | | | | | | | |
assistance.....| 535 | 598 | 605 | 397 | 455 | 436 | 371 | 396 | 410
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality.....| 367 | 408 | 423 | 755 | 794 | 804 | 699 | 747 | 745
Arts, enter- | | | | | | | | |
tainment and | | | | | | | | |
recreation.....| 42 | 48 | 50 | 133 | 156 | 154 | 125 | 153 | 134
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 325 | 360 | 373 | 622 | 639 | 650 | 574 | 594 | 611
Government(4).....| 323 | 402 | 376 | 256 | 316 | 307 | 258 | 301 | 300
State and local | | | | | | | | |
government......| 269 | 338 | 318 | 227 | 284 | 277 | 233 | 269 | 271
|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............| 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.1
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1)..| 2.6 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.5
Construction.....| 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 6.5 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 5.7 | 5.1
Manufacturing....| 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.9
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and | | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)....| 2.0 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.3
Retail trade....| 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.9
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services........| 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.7
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices(3)........|. 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.3
Health care | | | | | | | | |
and social | | | | | | | | |
assistance.....|. 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.4
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality.....| 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.5
Arts, enter- | | | | | | | | |
tainment and | | | | | | | | |
recreation.....| 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 7.0 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 6.5 | 7.9 | 6.9
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.2
Government(4).....| 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.4
State and local | | | | | | | | |
government......| 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and
other services, not shown separately.
2 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not
shown separately.
3 Includes educational services, not shown separately.
4 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
p = Preliminary
Hires
In March, the hires rate was unchanged at 3.3 percent for total
nonfarm. The hires rate was little changed in all industries and
regions. (See table 2.) The number of hires in March 2012 was 4.4
million, up from 3.7 million at the end of the recession in June 2009.
Over the 12 months ending in March, the hires rate (not seasonally
adjusted) was unchanged for total nonfarm and total private but
increased for government. The hires rate declined over the year in
construction. (See table 6.)
Separations
The total separations figure includes voluntary quits, involuntary
layoffs and discharges, and other separations, including retirements.
Total separations is also referred to as turnover.
The seasonally adjusted total separations rate was unchanged in March
for total nonfarm, total private, and government. (See table 3.) Over
the year, the total separations rate (not seasonally adjusted) was
little changed for total nonfarm and total private, but rose in
government. (See table 7.)
The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or
ability to change jobs. In March, the quits rate was unchanged for
total nonfarm, total private, and government. (See table 4.) The
number of quits was 2.1 million in March 2012, up from 1.8 million at
the end of the recession in June 2009.
The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) in March increased over
the year for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The number
of quits increased over the year in mining and logging, accommodation
and food services, and state and local government. Quits increased in
the South region. (See table 8.)
The layoffs and discharges component of total separations is
seasonally adjusted at the total nonfarm, total private, and
government levels and for the four regions. The layoffs and discharges
rate displayed little or no change in March for total nonfarm, total
private, government and all four regions. (See table B.) The number of
layoffs and discharges for total nonfarm was 1.7 million in March
2012, down from 2.1 million at the end of the recession in June 2009.
Table B. Layoffs and discharges, seasonally adjusted
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
|------------------------------------------------
Industry and region(1) | Mar. | Feb. | Mar. | Mar. | Feb. | Mar.
| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p
-----------------------|------------------------------------------------
Total..................| 1,690 | 1,728 | 1,683 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3
Total private.........| 1,591 | 1,610 | 1,577 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.4
Government............| 99 | 117 | 106 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
Northeast.............| 314 | 327 | 296 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.2
South.................| 659 | 623 | 642 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3
Midwest...............| 368 | 409 | 365 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.2
West..................| 349 | 369 | 379 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 For region definitions see footnote 8, table 1.
p = Preliminary
The layoffs and discharges level (not seasonally adjusted) for total
nonfarm, total private, and government was little changed over the 12
months ending in March 2012. Over the year, the number of layoffs and
discharges rose for mining and logging. The number of layoffs and
discharges was little changed over the year in all four regions. (See
table 9.)
The other separations component of total separations is seasonally
adjusted at the total nonfarm, total private, and government levels.
Other separations include separations due to retirement, death, and
disability, as well as transfers to other locations of the same firm.
In March 2012, there were 323,000 other separations for total nonfarm,
256,000 for total private, and 67,000 for government. (See table C.)
The number of other separations for total nonfarm in March 2012
increased from 293,000 at the end of the recession in June 2009.
Table C. Other separations, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
|------------------------------------------------
Industry | Mar. | Feb. | Mar. | Mar. | Feb. | Mar.
| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p| 2011 | 2012 | 2012p
-------------------|------------------------------------------------
Total..............| 320 | 325 | 323 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2
Total private.....| 262 | 266 | 256 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2
Government........| 58 | 58 | 67 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------
p = Preliminary
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 March
2012, hires totaled 50.7 million and separations totaled 48.8 million,
yielding a net employment gain of 1.9 million. These figures include
workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during
the year.
____________
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for April 2012 are
scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.
(EDT).
Technical Note
The data for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)
are collected and compiled monthly from a sample of business
establishments by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Collection
In a monthly survey of business establishments, data are
collected for total employment, job openings, hires, quits, layoffs
and discharges, and other separations. Data collection methods
include computer-assisted telephone interviewing, touchtone data
entry, web, fax, e-mail, and mail.
Coverage
The JOLTS program covers all private nonfarm establishments such
as factories, offices, and stores, as well as federal, state, and
local government entities in the 50 states and the District of
Columbia.
Concepts
Industry classification. The industry classifications in this
release are in accordance with the 2012 version of the North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS). In order to
ensure the highest possible quality of data, State Workforce
Agencies verify with employers and update, if necessary, the
industry code, location, and ownership classification of all
establishments on a 3-year cycle. Changes in establishment
characteristics resulting from the verification process are always
introduced into the JOLTS sampling frame with the data reported for
the first month of the year.
Employment. Employment includes persons on the payroll who
worked or received pay for the pay period that includes the 12th
day of the reference month. Full-time, part-time, permanent, short-
term, seasonal, salaried, and hourly employees are included, as are
employees on paid vacations or other paid leave. Proprietors or
partners of unincorporated businesses, unpaid family workers, or
persons on leave without pay or on strike for the entire pay
period, are not counted as employed. Employees of temporary help
agencies, employee leasing companies, outside contractors, and
consultants are counted by their employer of record, not by the
establishment where they are working.
Job openings. Establishments submit job openings information for
the last business day of the reference month. A job opening
requires that: 1) a specific position exists and there is work
available for that position, 2) work could start within 30 days
regardless of whether a suitable candidate is found, and 3) the
employer is actively recruiting from outside the establishment to
fill the position. Included are full-time, part-time, permanent,
short-term, and seasonal openings. Active recruiting means that
the establishment is taking steps to fill a position by advertising
in newspapers or on the Internet, posting help-wanted signs,
accepting applications, or using other similar methods.
Jobs to be filled only by internal transfers, promotions,
demotions, or recall from layoffs are excluded. Also excluded are
jobs with start dates more than 30 days in the future, jobs for
which employees have been hired but have not yet reported for work,
and jobs to be filled by employees of temporary help agencies,
employee leasing companies, outside contractors, or consultants.
The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job
openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying
that quotient by 100.
Hires. Hires are the total number of additions to the payroll
occurring at any time during the reference month, including both
new and rehired employees, full-time and part-time, permanent,
short-term and seasonal employees, employees recalled to the
location after a layoff lasting more than 7 days, on-call or
intermittent employees who returned to work after having been
formally separated, and transfers from other locations. The hires
count does not include transfers or promotions within the reporting
site, employees returning from strike, employees of temporary help
agencies or employee leasing companies, outside contractors, or
consultants. The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of
hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
Separations. Separations are the total number of terminations of
employment occurring at any time during the reference month, and
are reported by type of separation--quits, layoffs and discharges,
and other separations. Quits are voluntary separations by
employees (except for retirements, which are reported as other
separations). Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations
initiated by the employer and include layoffs with no intent to
rehire; formal layoffs lasting or expected to last more than 7
days; discharges resulting from mergers, downsizing, or closings;
firings or other discharges for cause; terminations of permanent or
short-term employees; and terminations of seasonal employees.
Other separations include retirements, transfers to other
locations, deaths, and separations due to disability. Separations
do not include transfers within the same location or employees on
strike.
The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of
separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
The quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations rates are
computed similarly, dividing the number by employment and
multiplying by 100.
Annual estimates. Annual estimates of rates and levels of hires,
quits, layoffs and discharges, other separations, and total
separations are released with the January news release each year.
The JOLTS annual level estimates for hires, quits, layoffs and
discharges, other separations, and total separations are the sum of
the 12 published monthly levels. The annual rate estimates are
computed by dividing the annual level by the Current Employment
Statistics (CES) annual average employment level, and multiplying
that quotient by 100. This figure will be approximately equal to
the sum of the 12 monthly rates. Note that both the JOLTS and CES
annual levels are rounded to the nearest thousand before the annual
estimates are calculated. Consistent with BLS practices, annual
estimates are published only for not seasonally adjusted data.
Annual estimates are not calculated for job openings because job
openings are a stock, or point-in-time, measurement for the last
business day of each month. Only jobs still open on the last day
of the month are counted. For the same reason job openings cannot
be cumulated throughout each month, annual figures for job openings
cannot be created by summing the monthly estimates. Hires and
separations are flow measures and are cumulated over the month with
a total reported for the month. Therefore, the annual figures can
be created by summing the monthly estimates.
Special collection procedures
An implied measure of employment change can be derived from the
JOLTS data by subtracting separations from hires for a given
month. Aggregating these monthly changes historically produced
employment levels that overstated employment change as measured by
CES at the total nonfarm level. Research into this problem showed
that a significant amount of the divergence between the CES
employment levels and the derived JOLTS employment levels was
traceable to the Employment Services industry and to the State
Government Education industry. In the former industry, businesses
have a difficult time reporting hires and separations of temporary
help workers. In the latter industry, employers have difficulty
reporting hires and separations of student workers. BLS now
devotes additional resources to the collection, editing, and review
of data for these industries. BLS analysts more closely examine
reported data that do not provide a consistent picture over time,
and re-contact the respondents as necessary. Analysts work with
the respondents to adjust their reporting practices as possible.
Units that cannot be reconciled but are clearly incorrect on a
consistent basis are not used, they are replaced by imputed values
using standard techniques.
Sample and estimation methodology
The JOLTS survey design is a stratified random sample of 16,400
nonfarm business establishments, including factories, offices, and
stores, as well as federal, state, and local governments in the 50
states and the District of Columbia. The establishments are drawn
from a universe of over 9.1 million establishments compiled as part
of the operations of the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
(QCEW) program. This program includes all employers subject to state
Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws and federal agencies subject to
Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE).
The sampling frame is stratified by ownership, region, industry
sector, and establishment size class. The JOLTS sample is constructed
from individual panels of sample units drawn on an annual basis. The
full annual sample consists of one certainty panel composed of only
large units selected with virtual certainty based on their size and
24 non-certainty panels. Each month a new non-certainty panel is
rolled into collection, and the oldest non-certainty panel is
rolled out. This means that at any given time the JOLTS sample is
constructed from panels from three different annual sampling
frames. The entire sample of old plus new panels is post-
stratified and re-weighted annually to represent the most recent
sampling frame. Additionally, the out-of-business establishments
are removed from the old panels. The annual sample is supplemented
with a quarterly sample of birth establishments (i.e., new
establishments) to better reflect the impact of younger
establishments in the JOLTS sample.
JOLTS total employment estimates are benchmarked or ratio adjusted
monthly to the strike-adjusted employment estimates of the Current
Employment Statistics (CES) survey. A ratio of CES to JOLTS employment
is used to adjust the levels for all other JOLTS data elements.
JOLTS business birth/death model
As with any sample survey, the JOLTS sample can only be as
current as its sampling frame. The time lag from the birth of an
establishment until its appearance on the sampling frame is
approximately one year. In addition, many of these new units may
fail within the first year. Since these universe units cannot be
reflected on the sampling frame immediately, the JOLTS
sample cannot capture job openings, hires, and separations from
these units during their early existence. BLS has developed a model
to estimate birth/death activity for current months by examining the
birth/death activity from previous years on the QCEW and projecting
forward using the ratio of over-the-year CES employment change.
The birth/death model also uses historical JOLTS data to estimate the
amount of “churn” (hires and separations) that exists in establishments
of various sizes. The model then combines the estimated churn with
the projected employment change to estimate the number of hires and
separations taking place in these units that cannot be measured
through sampling.
The model-based estimate of total separations is distributed to
the three components–-quits; layoffs and discharges; and other
separations--in proportion to their contribution to the sample-
based estimate of total separations. Additionally, job openings
for the modeled units are estimated by computing the ratio of
openings to hires in the collected data and applying that ratio to
the modeled hires. The estimates of job openings, hires, and
separations produced by the birth/death model are then added to the
sample-based estimates produced from the survey to arrive at the
estimates for openings, hires, and separations.
Seasonal adjustment
BLS seasonally adjusts several JOLTS series using the X-12 ARIMA
seasonal adjustment program. Seasonal adjustment is the process of
estimating and removing periodic fluctuations caused by events such
as weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school
year. Seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental
changes in the level of the series, particularly those associated
with general economic expansions and contractions. A concurrent
seasonal adjustment methodology is used in which new seasonal
adjustment factors are calculated each month, using all relevant
data, up to and including the data for the current month.
JOLTS uses moving averages as seasonal filters in seasonal
adjustment. JOLTS seasonal adjustment includes both additive and
multiplicative seasonal adjustment models and REGARIMA (regression
with autocorrelated errors) modeling to improve the seasonal
adjustment factors at the beginning and end of the series and to
detect and adjust for outliers in the series.
Alignment procedure
JOLTS hires minus separations should be comparable to the CES net
employment change. However, definitional differences as well as
sampling and non-sampling errors between the two surveys
historically caused JOLTS to diverge from CES over time. To limit
the divergence, and improve the quality of the JOLTS hires and
separations series, BLS implemented the Monthly Alignment Method.
The Monthly Alignment Method applies the CES employment trends to
the seasonally adjusted JOLTS implied employment trend (hires minus
separations) forcing them to be approximately the same, while
preserving the seasonality of the JOLTS data. First, the two
series are seasonally adjusted and the difference between the JOLTS
implied employment trend and the CES net employment change is
calculated. Next, the JOLTS implied employment trend is adjusted to
equal the CES net employment change through a proportional
adjustment. This proportional adjustment procedure adjusts the two
components (hires, separations) proportionally to their
contribution to the total churn (hires plus separations). For
example, if hires are 40 percent of the churn for a given month,
they will receive 40 percent of the needed adjustment and
separations will receive 60 percent of the needed adjustment. The
adjusted hires and separations are converted back to not seasonally
adjusted data by reversing the application of the original seasonal
factors. After the Monthly Alignment Method has been used to
adjust the level estimates, rate estimates are computed from the
adjusted levels. The monthly alignment procedure assures a close
match of the JOLTS implied employment trend with the CES trend. The
CES series is considered a highly accurate measure of net
employment change owing to its very large sample size and annual
benchmarking to universe counts of employment from the QCEW
program.
Historical changes in JOLTS data
The JOLTS data series on job openings, hires, and separations are
relatively new. The full sample is divided into panels, with one
panel enrolled each month. A full complement of panels for the
original data series based on the 1987 Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC) system was not completely enrolled in the
survey until January 2002. The supplemental panels of
establishments needed to create NAICS estimates were not completely
enrolled until May 2003. The data collected up until those points
are from less than a full sample. Therefore, estimates from
earlier months should be used with caution, as fewer sampled units
were reporting data at that time.
In March 2002, BLS procedures for collecting hires and
separations data were revised to address possible underreporting.
As a result, JOLTS hires and separations estimates for months prior
to March 2002 may not be comparable to estimates for March 2002 and
later.
The federal government reorganization that involved transferring
approximately 180,000 employees to the new Department of Homeland
Security is not reflected in the JOLTS hires and separations
estimates for the federal government. The Office of Personnel
Management's record shows these transfers were completed in March
2003. The inclusion of transfers in the JOLTS definitions of hires
and separations is intended to cover ongoing movements of workers
between establishments. The Department of Homeland Security
reorganization was a massive one-time event, and the inclusion of
these intergovernmental transfers would distort the federal government
time series.
Reliability of the estimates
JOLTS estimates are subject to both sampling and nonsampling
error. When a sample rather than the entire population is
surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ
from the "true" population values they represent. The exact
difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular
sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard
error of the estimate. BLS analysis is generally conducted at the
90-percent level of confidence. That means that there is a 90-
percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a
sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the
"true" population value because of sampling error. Estimates of
sampling errors are available upon request.
The JOLTS estimates also are affected by nonsampling error.
Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure
to include a segment of the population, the inability to obtain
data from all units in the sample, the inability or unwillingness
of respondents to provide data on a timely basis, mistakes made by
respondents, errors made in the collection or processing of the
data, and errors from the employment benchmark data used in
estimation.
Other information
Information in this release will be made available to sensory
impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200;
Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Table 1. Job openings levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted
Levels(3) (in thousands) Rates
Industry and region Mar. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Mar. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012p 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012p
Total................................. 3,189 3,408 3,274 3,540 3,477 3,565 3,737 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.7
INDUSTRY
Total private(4)........................ 2,865 3,062 2,925 3,188 3,119 3,163 3,361 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.8 2.7 2.8 2.9
Construction........................... 70 80 83 78 86 73 96 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.7
Manufacturing.......................... 239 240 240 252 261 271 326 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities(5) 515 594 581 574 584 584 619 2.0 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.4
Retail trade.......................... 281 334 316 323 315 365 389 1.9 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.4 2.6
Professional and business services..... 609 644 561 785 695 710 729 3.4 3.6 3.1 4.3 3.8 3.8 3.9
Education and health services(6)........ 590 622 616 605 630 655 668 2.9 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.0 3.1 3.2
Health care and social assistance 535 558 552 552 576 598 605 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5
Leisure and hospitality................ 367 404 434 441 432 408 423 2.7 2.9 3.1 3.2 3.1 2.9 3.0
Arts, entertainment, and recreation... 42 62 58 44 72 48 50 2.2 3.1 2.9 2.3 3.6 2.5 2.5
Accommodation and food services....... 325 342 376 397 360 360 373 2.8 2.9 3.2 3.3 3.0 3.0 3.1
Government(7)......................... 323 345 349 352 358 402 376 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.7
State and local government............. 269 279 299 301 305 338 318 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.6
REGION(8)
Northeast........................... 655 573 557 595 590 671 691 2.6 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.6 2.7
South............................... 1,100 1,310 1,306 1,443 1,442 1,402 1,496 2.3 2.7 2.7 2.9 2.9 2.8 3.0
Midwest............................. 671 715 730 763 738 791 795 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.6
West................................ 762 811 682 740 707 702 754 2.6 2.7 2.3 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.5
1 Job openings are the number of job openings on the last business day of the month.
2 The job openings rate is the number of job openings on the last business day of the month as a percent of total employment plus
job openings.
3 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
4 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
5 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
6 Includes educational services, not shown separately.
7 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
8 The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the regions are: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of
Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,
Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio,
South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,
Washington, and Wyoming.
p = Preliminary
Table 2. Hires levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted
Levels(3) (in thousands) Rates
Industry and region Mar. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Mar. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012p 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012p
Total................................. 4,293 4,220 4,268 4,188 4,239 4,444 4,356 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.3
INDUSTRY
Total private(4)........................ 4,037 3,979 3,986 3,889 3,945 4,128 4,049 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.7
Construction........................... 357 333 312 315 331 318 286 6.5 6.0 5.7 5.7 5.9 5.7 5.1
Manufacturing.......................... 270 240 237 269 253 260 257 2.3 2.0 2.0 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities(5) 846 840 849 812 836 815 823 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.3
Retail trade.......................... 584 559 573 517 557 551 546 4.0 3.8 3.9 3.5 3.8 3.7 3.7
Professional and business services..... 922 893 858 818 831 973 905 5.4 5.1 4.9 4.6 4.7 5.5 5.1
Education and health services(6)........ 464 484 483 494 517 527 515 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.5
Health care and social assistance 397 414 407 414 441 455 436 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.6
Leisure and hospitality................ 755 719 779 743 757 794 804 5.7 5.4 5.8 5.5 5.6 5.9 5.9
Arts, entertainment, and recreation... 133 131 157 141 139 156 154 7.0 6.9 8.2 7.4 7.2 8.1 8.0
Accommodation and food services....... 622 588 622 602 618 639 650 5.5 5.1 5.4 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.6
Government(7)......................... 256 241 281 299 294 316 307 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4
State and local government............. 227 215 252 270 275 284 277 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.4
REGION(8)
Northeast........................... 790 684 691 676 710 756 742 3.2 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.8 3.0 2.9
South............................... 1,642 1,656 1,626 1,634 1,667 1,748 1,682 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.5
Midwest............................. 945 960 1,004 986 977 985 1,001 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.3 3.3
West................................ 916 919 947 891 884 955 931 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.1 3.0 3.3 3.2
1 Hires are the number of hires during the entire month.
2 The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
3 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
4 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
5 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
6 Includes educational services, not shown separately.
7 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
8 See footnote 8, table 1.
p = Preliminary
Table 3. Total separations levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted
Levels(3) (in thousands) Rates
Industry and region Mar. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Mar. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012p 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012p
Total................................. 3,988 4,065 4,057 4,023 4,017 4,124 4,153 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.0 3.1 3.1
INDUSTRY
Total private(4)........................ 3,730 3,781 3,750 3,695 3,729 3,823 3,853 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.5
Construction........................... 341 325 300 303 308 317 282 6.2 5.9 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.7 5.1
Manufacturing.......................... 246 227 236 239 217 235 225 2.1 1.9 2.0 2.0 1.8 2.0 1.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities(5) 793 813 770 773 837 780 842 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.3 3.1 3.3
Retail trade.......................... 561 539 520 509 579 543 579 3.9 3.7 3.5 3.5 3.9 3.7 3.9
Professional and business services..... 796 831 807 792 745 850 833 4.6 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.2 4.8 4.7
Education and health services(6)........ 437 450 462 468 501 458 472 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.5 2.3 2.3
Health care and social assistance 371 386 396 402 412 396 410 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.4
Leisure and hospitality................ 699 663 715 695 700 747 745 5.3 5.0 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.5 5.5
Arts, entertainment, and recreation... 125 114 142 133 125 153 134 6.5 6.0 7.4 7.0 6.5 7.9 6.9
Accommodation and food services....... 574 549 573 562 575 594 611 5.1 4.8 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.1 5.2
Government(7)......................... 258 285 307 328 288 301 300 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.4 1.4
State and local government............. 233 253 268 292 262 269 271 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.4
REGION(8)
Northeast........................... 633 702 667 631 692 703 634 2.5 2.8 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.8 2.5
South............................... 1,563 1,537 1,609 1,592 1,598 1,571 1,676 3.3 3.2 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.5
Midwest............................. 929 949 881 905 866 970 926 3.1 3.2 2.9 3.0 2.9 3.2 3.1
West................................ 863 877 899 895 862 880 916 3.0 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.0 3.1
1 Total separations are the number of total separations during the entire month.
2 The total separations rate is the number of total separations during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
3 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
4 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
5 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
6 Includes educational services, not shown separately.
7 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
8 See footnote 8, table 1.
p = Preliminary
Table 4. Quits levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted
Levels(3) (in thousands) Rates
Industry and region Mar. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Mar. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012p 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012p
Total................................. 1,979 1,983 1,976 2,008 2,002 2,072 2,147 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6
INDUSTRY
Total private(4)........................ 1,877 1,869 1,860 1,867 1,876 1,947 2,020 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.8
Construction........................... 74 80 91 76 70 75 81 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.5
Manufacturing.......................... 110 105 121 113 97 102 104 .9 .9 1.0 1.0 .8 .9 .9
Trade, transportation, and utilities(5) 439 461 413 447 449 461 469 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.9
Retail trade.......................... 333 330 294 331 342 345 346 2.3 2.2 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.4
Professional and business services..... 377 368 380 363 352 371 378 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.1
Education and health services(6)........ 259 242 247 265 282 287 285 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4
Health care and social assistance 226 215 225 233 251 256 254 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.5
Leisure and hospitality................ 409 374 370 388 398 425 468 3.1 2.8 2.8 2.9 2.9 3.1 3.4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation... 45 41 36 48 43 58 44 2.4 2.1 1.9 2.5 2.2 3.0 2.3
Accommodation and food services....... 364 334 335 340 355 368 424 3.2 2.9 2.9 2.9 3.1 3.2 3.6
Government(7)......................... 102 114 116 141 125 125 126 .5 .5 .5 .6 .6 .6 .6
State and local government............. 94 102 106 131 116 113 115 .5 .5 .6 .7 .6 .6 .6
REGION(8)
Northeast........................... 278 288 275 279 343 314 278 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.4 1.2 1.1
South............................... 793 782 830 816 827 825 916 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.9
Midwest............................. 455 477 443 469 412 493 489 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.6
West................................ 454 436 428 445 419 440 464 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.6
1 Quits are the number of quits during the entire month.
2 The quits rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
3 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
4 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
5 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
6 Includes educational services, not shown separately.
7 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
8 See footnote 8, table 1.
p = Preliminary
Table 5. Job openings levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted
Levels (in thousands) Rates
Industry and region Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Feb. Mar.
2011 2012 2012p 2011 2012 2012p
Total........................................... 3,102 3,363 3,678 2.3 2.5 2.7
INDUSTRY
Total private.................................. 2,782 2,979 3,309 2.5 2.7 2.9
Mining and Logging............................ 33 27 12 4.2 3.2 1.4
Construction.................................. 67 62 96 1.3 1.2 1.8
Manufacturing................................. 225 264 318 1.9 2.2 2.6
Durable goods................................ 157 182 204 2.1 2.4 2.7
Nondurable goods............................. 67 82 114 1.5 1.8 2.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 503 524 609 2.0 2.1 2.4
Wholesale trade.............................. 119 96 109 2.1 1.7 1.9
Retail trade................................. 257 302 375 1.8 2.0 2.5
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities... 127 127 125 2.6 2.5 2.5
Information................................... 108 88 88 3.9 3.2 3.2
Financial activities.......................... 205 176 263 2.6 2.2 3.3
Finance and insurance........................ 173 128 210 2.9 2.2 3.5
Real estate and rental and leasing........... 31 48 53 1.6 2.5 2.7
Professional and business services............ 580 686 687 3.3 3.8 3.8
Education and health services................. 565 633 656 2.8 3.0 3.1
Educational services......................... 49 53 60 1.4 1.5 1.7
Health care and social assistance............ 516 579 597 3.0 3.3 3.4
Leisure and hospitality....................... 383 383 446 2.9 2.9 3.3
Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......... 43 48 49 2.4 2.7 2.7
Accommodation and food services............. 340 335 397 3.0 2.9 3.4
Other services................................ 115 136 134 2.1 2.5 2.4
Government..................................... 320 384 369 1.4 1.7 1.6
Federal....................................... 63 67 67 2.1 2.3 2.3
State and local............................... 257 317 302 1.3 1.6 1.5
REGION (3)
Northeast..................................... 613 627 676 2.4 2.4 2.6
South......................................... 1,071 1,338 1,462 2.2 2.7 3.0
Midwest....................................... 683 739 813 2.3 2.4 2.6
West.......................................... 735 659 726 2.5 2.2 2.5
1 Job openings are the number of job openings on the last business day of the month.
2 The job openings rate is the number of job openings on the last business day of the month as a
percent of total employment plus job openings.
3 See footnote 8, table 1.
p = Preliminary
Table 6. Hires levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted
Levels (in thousands) Rates
Industry and region Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Feb. Mar.
2011 2012 2012p 2011 2012 2012p
Total........................................... 4,036 3,633 4,117 3.1 2.8 3.1
INDUSTRY
Total private.................................. 3,860 3,406 3,900 3.6 3.1 3.6
Mining and Logging............................ 25 28 32 3.3 3.4 3.9
Construction.................................. 387 253 303 7.5 4.9 5.8
Manufacturing................................. 267 234 256 2.3 2.0 2.2
Durable goods................................ 157 142 160 2.2 1.9 2.2
Nondurable goods............................. 110 92 96 2.5 2.1 2.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 830 608 811 3.4 2.4 3.3
Wholesale trade.............................. 131 101 131 2.4 1.8 2.4
Retail trade................................. 576 395 540 4.0 2.7 3.7
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities... 123 112 140 2.6 2.3 2.9
Information................................... 52 55 53 2.0 2.1 2.0
Financial activities.......................... 142 128 150 1.9 1.7 2.0
Finance and insurance........................ 88 83 87 1.5 1.4 1.5
Real estate and rental and leasing........... 54 45 64 2.8 2.4 3.3
Professional and business services............ 857 891 855 5.0 5.1 4.9
Education and health services................. 392 449 438 2.0 2.2 2.1
Educational services......................... 40 62 47 1.2 1.8 1.4
Health care and social assistance............ 352 386 390 2.1 2.3 2.3
Leisure and hospitality....................... 758 635 827 5.9 4.9 6.3
Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......... 124 101 147 7.0 5.9 8.3
Accommodation and food services............. 634 534 680 5.7 4.8 5.9
Other services................................ 149 128 175 2.8 2.4 3.3
Government..................................... 176 227 217 .8 1.0 1.0
Federal....................................... 27 23 30 1.0 .8 1.1
State and local............................... 149 204 188 .8 1.0 1.0
REGION (3)
Northeast..................................... 707 551 678 2.8 2.2 2.7
South......................................... 1,579 1,506 1,618 3.3 3.2 3.4
Midwest....................................... 905 800 962 3.1 2.7 3.2
West.......................................... 845 777 859 3.0 2.7 3.0
1 Hires are the number of hires during the entire month.
2 The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
3 See footnote 8, table 1.
p = Preliminary
Table 7. Total separations levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted
Levels (in thousands) Rates
Industry and region Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Feb. Mar.
2011 2012 2012p 2011 2012 2012p
Total........................................... 3,321 3,264 3,510 2.6 2.5 2.7
INDUSTRY
Total private.................................. 3,156 3,084 3,316 2.9 2.8 3.0
Mining and Logging............................ 12 26 31 1.6 3.2 3.7
Construction.................................. 291 270 237 5.6 5.3 4.5
Manufacturing................................. 225 203 206 1.9 1.7 1.7
Durable goods................................ 127 111 125 1.8 1.5 1.7
Nondurable goods............................. 98 92 81 2.2 2.1 1.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 669 660 733 2.7 2.7 2.9
Wholesale trade.............................. 100 89 115 1.8 1.6 2.1
Retail trade................................. 461 466 493 3.2 3.2 3.4
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities... 108 105 125 2.3 2.2 2.6
Information................................... 62 48 70 2.3 1.8 2.7
Financial activities.......................... 140 122 141 1.8 1.6 1.8
Finance and insurance........................ 93 75 87 1.6 1.3 1.5
Real estate and rental and leasing........... 47 47 54 2.5 2.5 2.8
Professional and business services............ 722 732 763 4.2 4.2 4.3
Education and health services................. 370 368 403 1.9 1.8 2.0
Educational services......................... 41 34 39 1.2 1.0 1.1
Health care and social assistance............ 329 334 364 2.0 2.0 2.2
Leisure and hospitality....................... 541 517 591 4.2 4.0 4.5
Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......... 87 80 97 4.9 4.7 5.5
Accommodation and food services............. 454 437 494 4.1 3.9 4.3
Other services................................ 125 137 141 2.3 2.6 2.6
Government..................................... 165 181 193 .7 .8 .9
Federal....................................... 19 25 22 .7 .9 .8
State and local............................... 146 156 171 .7 .8 .9
REGION (3)
Northeast..................................... 517 529 507 2.1 2.1 2.0
South......................................... 1,340 1,256 1,464 2.8 2.6 3.1
Midwest....................................... 751 770 757 2.5 2.6 2.5
West.......................................... 712 709 782 2.5 2.5 2.7
1 Total separations are the number of total separations during the entire month.
2 The total separations rate is the number of total separations during the entire month as a percent of
total employment.
3 See footnote 8, table 1.
p = Preliminary
Table 8. Quits levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted
Levels (in thousands) Rates
Industry and region Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Feb. Mar.
2011 2012 2012p 2011 2012 2012p
Total........................................... 1,730 1,638 1,911 1.3 1.2 1.4
INDUSTRY
Total private.................................. 1,655 1,549 1,818 1.5 1.4 1.7
Mining and Logging............................ 8 13 16 1.0 1.6 1.9
Construction.................................. 69 56 75 1.3 1.1 1.4
Manufacturing................................. 101 83 97 .9 .7 .8
Durable goods................................ 54 44 58 .7 .6 .8
Nondurable goods............................. 47 40 39 1.1 .9 .9
Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 390 378 428 1.6 1.5 1.7
Wholesale trade.............................. 45 39 52 .8 .7 .9
Retail trade................................. 285 283 305 2.0 2.0 2.1
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities... 59 56 70 1.2 1.1 1.4
Information................................... 26 25 31 1.0 1.0 1.2
Financial activities.......................... 89 67 82 1.2 .9 1.1
Finance and insurance........................ 59 45 63 1.0 .8 1.1
Real estate and rental and leasing........... 29 22 19 1.5 1.1 1.0
Professional and business services............ 353 316 359 2.1 1.8 2.0
Education and health services................. 229 235 256 1.2 1.2 1.3
Educational services......................... 23 20 23 .7 .6 .7
Health care and social assistance............ 206 215 234 1.2 1.3 1.4
Leisure and hospitality....................... 330 312 391 2.6 2.4 3.0
Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......... 30 34 30 1.7 2.0 1.7
Accommodation and food services............. 300 278 360 2.7 2.5 3.2
Other services................................ 61 64 83 1.2 1.2 1.6
Government..................................... 75 89 93 .3 .4 .4
Federal....................................... 6 11 9 .2 .4 .3
State and local............................... 69 78 84 .3 .4 .4
REGION (3)
Northeast..................................... 254 239 247 1.0 1.0 1.0
South......................................... 703 648 822 1.5 1.4 1.7
Midwest....................................... 390 391 428 1.3 1.3 1.4
West.......................................... 383 360 414 1.3 1.3 1.4
1 Quits are the number of quits during the entire month.
2 The quits rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
3 See footnote 8, table 1.
p = Preliminary
Table 9. Layoffs and discharges levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted
Levels (in thousands) Rates
Industry and region Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Feb. Mar.
2011 2012 2012p 2011 2012 2012p
Total........................................... 1,321 1,351 1,326 1.0 1.0 1.0
INDUSTRY
Total private.................................. 1,272 1,298 1,273 1.2 1.2 1.2
Mining and Logging............................ 3 12 12 .4 1.5 1.5
Construction.................................. 208 201 154 4.0 3.9 2.9
Manufacturing................................. 105 97 86 .9 .8 .7
Durable goods................................ 63 56 51 .9 .8 .7
Nondurable goods............................. 42 40 35 .9 .9 .8
Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 228 219 228 .9 .9 .9
Wholesale trade.............................. 42 38 50 .8 .7 .9
Retail trade................................. 151 150 141 1.1 1.0 1.0
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities... 34 31 38 .7 .6 .8
Information................................... 33 22 35 1.2 .8 1.3
Financial activities.......................... 38 35 49 .5 .5 .6
Finance and insurance........................ 27 19 18 .5 .3 .3
Real estate and rental and leasing........... 11 16 32 .6 .8 1.7
Professional and business services............ 312 372 360 1.8 2.1 2.0
Education and health services................. 102 97 112 .5 .5 .5
Educational services......................... 14 11 11 .4 .3 .3
Health care and social assistance............ 87 86 101 .5 .5 .6
Leisure and hospitality....................... 197 181 182 1.5 1.4 1.4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......... 54 43 66 3.1 2.5 3.7
Accommodation and food services............. 143 138 117 1.3 1.2 1.0
Other services................................ 45 62 55 .8 1.2 1.0
Government..................................... 50 52 53 .2 .2 .2
Federal....................................... 6 6 5 .2 .2 .2
State and local............................... 44 46 47 .2 .2 .2
REGION (3)
Northeast..................................... 228 237 211 .9 .9 .8
South......................................... 547 501 547 1.2 1.1 1.1
Midwest....................................... 276 321 273 .9 1.1 .9
West.......................................... 271 292 294 .9 1.0 1.0
1 Layoffs and discharges are the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month.
2 The layoffs and discharges rate is the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month as a
percent of total employment.
3 See footnote 8, table 1.
p = Preliminary
Table 10. Other separations levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted
Levels (in thousands) Rates
Industry and region Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Feb. Mar.
2011 2012 2012p 2011 2012 2012p
Total........................................... 269 275 273 0.2 0.2 0.2
INDUSTRY
Total private.................................. 229 236 226 .2 .2 .2
Mining and Logging............................ 1 1 3 .1 .1 .4
Construction.................................. 14 13 8 .3 .3 .2
Manufacturing................................. 18 23 23 .2 .2 .2
Durable goods................................ 10 11 16 .1 .2 .2
Nondurable goods............................. 9 12 7 .2 .3 .2
Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 51 63 76 .2 .3 .3
Wholesale trade.............................. 13 12 13 .2 .2 .2
Retail trade................................. 24 33 47 .2 .2 .3
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities... 14 18 17 .3 .4 .3
Information................................... 3 1 4 .1 (4) .2
Financial activities.......................... 14 21 10 .2 .3 .1
Finance and insurance........................ 7 11 6 .1 .2 .1
Real estate and rental and leasing........... 7 10 4 .4 .5 .2
Professional and business services............ 57 44 45 .3 .2 .3
Education and health services................. 39 36 34 .2 .2 .2
Educational services......................... 4 3 5 .1 .1 .2
Health care and social assistance............ 36 33 29 .2 .2 .2
Leisure and hospitality....................... 14 24 18 .1 .2 .1
Arts, entertainment, and recreation.......... 2 3 1 .1 .2 .1
Accommodation and food services............. 11 21 17 .1 .2 .1
Other services................................ 18 11 3 .3 .2 .1
Government..................................... 40 39 47 .2 .2 .2
Federal....................................... 7 8 8 .2 .3 .3
State and local............................... 33 31 40 .2 .2 .2
REGION (3)
Northeast..................................... 35 52 49 .1 .2 .2
South......................................... 90 108 95 .2 .2 .2
Midwest....................................... 85 58 56 .3 .2 .2
West.......................................... 58 57 74 .2 .2 .3
1 Other separations are the number of other separations during the entire month.
2 The other separations rate is the number of other separations during the entire month as a percent of
total employment.
3 See footnote 8, table 1.
4 Data round to zero.
p = Preliminary
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
