For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, May 7, 2013	USDL-13-0846

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                    JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER – MARCH 2013

There were 3.8 million job openings on the last business day of March, little changed from 3.9 million in 
February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The hires rate (3.2 percent) and separations 
rate (3.1 percent) were little changed 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 3.8 million, little changed from February. (See table 1.) In 
March, the number of job openings was little changed in all industries and regions.

The number of job openings in March (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed over the year for total 
nonfarm, total private, and government. Job openings decreased over the year for nondurable goods 
manufacturing and federal government; openings increased over the year for accommodation and food 
services. Job openings were little changed over the year for all regions. (See table 7.)

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.
                               | 2012 | 2013 | 2013p| 2012 | 2013 | 2013p| 2012 | 2013 | 2013p
-------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
                               |                     Levels (in thousands)
                               |--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..........................|3,848 |3,899 |3,844 |4,435 |4,451 |4,259 |4,180 |4,180 |4,213
                               |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
 Total private(1)..............|3,453 |3,478 |3,451 |4,133 |4,138 |3,966 |3,885 |3,884 |3,920
  Construction.................|   96 |  116 |  101 |  323 |  353 |  338 |  313 |  322 |  331
  Manufacturing................|  324 |  274 |  260 |  259 |  231 |  200 |  220 |  225 |  205
  Trade, transportation,       |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   and utilities(2)............|  641 |  644 |  694 |  862 |  936 |  818 |  836 |  863 |  841
   Retail trade................|  410 |  396 |  424 |  577 |  651 |  554 |  566 |  583 |  569
  Professional and             |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   business services...........|  786 |  709 |  664 |  896 |  845 |  869 |  849 |  770 |  821
  Education and health         |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   services(3).................|  680 |  672 |  643 |  514 |  499 |  515 |  462 |  482 |  490
   Health care and             |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    social assistance..........|  614 |  612 |  577 |  432 |  437 |  434 |  400 |  413 |  416
  Leisure and hospitality......|  433 |  488 |  523 |  813 |  762 |  754 |  763 |  730 |  750
   Arts, entertainment         |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    and recreation.............|   52 |   52 |   66 |  159 |  116 |  112 |  140 |  103 |  106
   Accommodation and           |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    food services..............|  381 |  437 |  457 |  654 |  646 |  642 |  622 |  627 |  643
 Government(4).................|  396 |  421 |  393 |  301 |  313 |  293 |  294 |  296 |  293
  State and local..............|  326 |  357 |  348 |  271 |  266 |  262 |  264 |  251 |  250
                               |--------------------------------------------------------------
                               |                       Rates (percent)
                               |--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..........................|  2.8 |  2.8 |  2.8 |  3.3 |  3.3 |  3.2 |  3.1 |  3.1 |  3.1
                               |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
 Total private(1)..............|  3.0 |  3.0 |  3.0 |  3.7 |  3.7 |  3.5 |  3.5 |  3.4 |  3.5
  Construction.................|  1.7 |  2.0 |  1.7 |  5.7 |  6.1 |  5.8 |  5.6 |  5.6 |  5.7
  Manufacturing................|  2.6 |  2.2 |  2.1 |  2.2 |  1.9 |  1.7 |  1.8 |  1.9 |  1.7
  Trade, transportation,       |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   and utilities(2)............|  2.5 |  2.4 |  2.6 |  3.4 |  3.6 |  3.2 |  3.3 |  3.3 |  3.3
   Retail trade................|  2.7 |  2.6 |  2.7 |  3.9 |  4.3 |  3.7 |  3.8 |  3.9 |  3.8
  Professional and             |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   business services...........|  4.2 |  3.7 |  3.5 |  5.0 |  4.6 |  4.7 |  4.8 |  4.2 |  4.5
  Education and health         |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   services(3).................|  3.3 |  3.2 |  3.0 |  2.5 |  2.4 |  2.5 |  2.3 |  2.3 |  2.4
   Health care and             |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    social assistance..........|  3.5 |  3.4 |  3.2 |  2.6 |  2.5 |  2.5 |  2.4 |  2.4 |  2.4
  Leisure and hospitality......|  3.1 |  3.4 |  3.6 |  5.9 |  5.5 |  5.4 |  5.6 |  5.2 |  5.4
   Arts, entertainment         |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    and recreation.............|  2.5 |  2.5 |  3.2 |  8.0 |  5.8 |  5.6 |  7.1 |  5.2 |  5.3
   Accommodation and           |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    food services..............|  3.2 |  3.5 |  3.7 |  5.6 |  5.4 |  5.4 |  5.3 |  5.2 |  5.4
 Government(4).................|  1.8 |  1.9 |  1.8 |  1.4 |  1.4 |  1.3 |  1.3 |  1.4 |  1.3
  State and local..............|  1.7 |  1.8 |  1.8 |  1.4 |  1.4 |  1.4 |  1.4 |  1.3 |  1.3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  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 little changed at 3.2 percent. The hires rate decreased in retail trade and in 
the South. (See table 2.) 

Over the 12 months ending in March, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total 
nonfarm, total private, and government. The hires rate decreased in durable goods manufacturing; 
nondurable goods manufacturing; and arts, entertainment, and recreation. The hires rate decreased in the 
Midwest. (See table 8.)
Separations

Total separations includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Total separations also is 
referred to as turnover. 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 include separations 
due to retirement, death, and disability, as well as transfers to other locations of the same firm.

In March, the quits rate was little changed at 1.6 percent. The quits rate also was little changed for total 
private and government. The quits rate decreased in the South. (See table 4.)

The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed over the 12 months ending in March for 
total nonfarm, total private, and government. The quits level was little changed in all industries and 
regions. (See table 10.)

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 was little 
changed in March at 1.3 percent. The rate was little changed for total private, government, and all four 
regions. (See table 5.)

The layoffs and discharges level (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed for total nonfarm, total 
private, and government over the 12 months ending in March 2013. Over the year, the number of layoffs 
and discharges fell in mining and logging and rose in federal government. The number of layoffs and 
discharges was little changed in all four regions. (See table 11.)

In March, there were 359,000 other separations for total nonfarm, little changed from the previous 
month. The number of other separations for total private and government was little changed. (See table 
6.) Over the 12 months ending in March, the number of other separations was essentially unchanged for 
total nonfarm, total private, and government. (See table 12.)

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 2013, hires totaled 51.8 million 
and separations totaled 50.1 million, yielding a net employment gain of 1.7 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 2013 are scheduled to be released 
on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).