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Economic News Release
PRINT:Print
JOLTS JLT Program Links

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release


For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, February 9, 2021	USDL-21-0225
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 – DECEMBER 2020

The number of job openings was little changed at 6.6 million on the last business day of December, the 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires decreased to 5.5 million while total separations 
were little changed at 5.5 million. Within separations, the quits rate and layoffs and discharges rate were 
little changed at 2.3 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. 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.
   
Job Openings

On the last business day of December, the number and rate of job openings were little changed at 6.6 
million and 4.5 percent, respectively. Job openings increased in professional and business services 
(+296,000). Job openings decreased in state and local government, excluding education (-65,000); arts, 
entertainment, and recreation (-50,000); and nondurable goods manufacturing (-30,000). The number of 
job openings was little changed in all four regions. (See table 1.)

Over the year, the number of job openings (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed in December. Job 
openings decreased in a number of industries over the year with the largest decreases in state and local 
government, excluding education; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and information. The job openings
level increased in a number of industries over the year with the largest increases in professional and 
business services; nondurable goods manufacturing; and transportation, warehousing, and utilities. The 
number of job openings increased in the South region. (See table 7.)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
|		     Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on December 2020 JOLTS Data			  |
|													  |
|Data collection for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey was affected by the coronavirus 	  |
|(COVID-19) pandemic. More information is available at the end of this news release and at 		  |
|www.bls.gov/covid19/job-openings-and-labor-turnover-covid19-december-2020.htm.				  |
|_________________________________________________________________________________________________________|

Hires

In December, the number of hires decreased to 5.5 million (-396,000), and the hires rate decreased to 
3.9 percent. Hires decreased in accommodation and food services (-221,000); transportation, 
warehousing, and utilities (-133,000); and arts, entertainment, and recreation (-82,000). Hires increased 
in retail trade (+94,000). The number of hires decreased in the South region. (See table 2.)

The number of hires in December (not seasonally adjusted) edged down over the year (-237,000). Hires 
decreased in accommodation and food services; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and educational 
services. Hires increased in a number of industries with the largest increases in wholesale trade, 
nondurable goods manufacturing, and durable goods manufacturing. The number of hires decreased in 
the West region. (See table 8.)

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 December, the number of total separations was little changed at 5.5 million, and the total separations 
rate was little changed at 3.8 percent. The total separations level decreased in federal government  
(-86,000). Total separations increased in arts, entertainment, and recreation (+68,000). Total separations 
were little changed in all four regions. (See table 3.)

Over the year, the number of total separations (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed. Total 
separations increased in a number of industries with the largest increases in accommodation and food 
services; nondurable goods manufacturing; and state and local government, excluding education. Total 
separations decreased in transportation, warehousing, and utilities and in mining and logging. The 
number of total separations was little changed in all four regions. (See table 9.)

In December, the quits level and rate were little changed at 3.3 million and 2.3 percent, respectively. 
The number of quits decreased in federal government (-4,000). The number of quits increased in the 
Midwest region. (See table 4.)

Over the year, the number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed. Quits decreased in 
accommodation and food services and state and in local government education. Quits increased in 
durable goods manufacturing. The number of quits decreased in the West region. (See table 10.)

The number of layoffs and discharges decreased to 1.8 million (-243,000) in December. The layoffs 
and discharges rate was little changed at 1.3 percent. The number of layoffs and discharges decreased in 
a number of industries with the largest decreases in federal government (-87,000); transportation, 
warehousing, and utilities (-52,000); and health care and social assistance (-42,000). Layoffs and 
discharges increased in arts, entertainment, and recreation (+50,000). Layoffs and discharges decreased 
in the Midwest region. (See table 5.)

Over the year, the layoffs and discharges level (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed. Layoffs and 
discharges increased in accommodation and food services; educational services; and state and local 
government, excluding education. The number of layoffs and discharges decreased in a number of 
industries with the largest decreases in construction; transportation, warehousing, and utilities; and retail 
trade. The number of layoffs and discharges decreased over the year in the South region. (See table 11.)

The number of other separations increased in December to 362,000 (+74,000). Other separations 
increased in a number of industries with the largest increases in health care and social assistance 
(+15,000); state and local government, excluding education (+8,000); and nondurable goods 
manufacturing (+7,000). The other separations level increased in the South region. (See table 6.)

Over the year, the other separations level (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed. Other separations 
decreased in durable goods manufacturing. The number of other separations increased in federal 
government and in educational services. The number of other separations was little changed in all four 
regions. (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 December, hires totaled 70.2 million and separations totaled 75.7 million, 
yielding a net employment loss of 5.5 million. These totals include workers who may have been hired 
and separated more than once during the year.

____________		
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for January 2021 are scheduled to be 
released on Thursday, March 11, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
|			     Upcoming Revisions to the JOLTS Estimates					  |
|													  |
|As part of an annual process, the January 2021 release on March 11, 2021 will incorporate the annual     |
|updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment 	  |
|factors. Unadjusted data and seasonally adjusted data from January 2016 forward are subject to revision. |
|_________________________________________________________________________________________________________|

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
|													  |
|		      Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on December 2020				  |
| 			    Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Data					  |
|													  |
|Data collection for the JOLTS survey was affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While 42 	  |
|percent of data are usually collected by phone at the JOLTS data collection center, most phone 	  |
|respondents were asked to report electronically. However, data collection was adversely impacted due to  |
|the inability to reach some respondents that normally respond by phone. The JOLTS response rate for      |
|December was 42 percent, while response rates prior to the pandemic averaged 54 percent.		  |
|													  |
|For the December preliminary and the November final JOLTS estimates, suppression of the alignment 	  |  
|process has been discontinued. The differences between the JOLTS hires minus separations and CES over	  |  
|the month employment changes are no longer significantly different. More information about the impact of |  
|the COVID-19 pandemic on the JOLTS survey, including information about the JOLTS estimation methodology, | 
|is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/job-openings-and-labor-turnover-covid19-december-2020.htm.	  	  |
|_________________________________________________________________________________________________________|  


Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally adjusted
Category Job openings Hires Total separations
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

LEVELS BY INDUSTRY
(in thousands)


Total

6,552 6,572 6,646 5,927 5,935 5,539 5,762 5,523 5,460

Total private

5,838 5,904 6,048 5,574 5,592 5,208 5,419 5,110 5,130

Mining and logging(1)

13 16 16 25 25 25 31 20 18

Construction(1)

216 232 195 467 395 416 432 361 366

Manufacturing

360 487 475 334 396 396 342 366 374

Durable goods(1)

222 246 263 192 221 220 193 205 208

Nondurable goods(1)

138 241 211 142 175 176 149 161 166

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,192 1,185 1,229 1,161 1,287 1,261 1,115 1,088 1,055

Wholesale trade

187 182 170 133 153 166 123 137 145

Retail trade

762 686 748 772 724 818 741 715 709

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities(1)

244 317 311 256 410 277 250 235 201

Information(1)

146 81 96 87 73 66 84 71 70

Financial activities

319 262 280 218 215 204 203 186 171

Finance and insurance

235 206 223 135 142 131 134 129 115

Real estate and rental and leasing(1)

84 56 57 83 73 74 69 57 56

Professional and business services

1,223 1,227 1,523 1,151 1,200 1,182 1,134 1,129 1,052

Education and health services

1,203 1,288 1,247 723 714 702 690 667 674

Educational services(1)

106 99 82 104 92 77 97 88 105

Health care and social assistance

1,097 1,189 1,165 619 622 625 593 580 568

Leisure and hospitality

916 888 761 1,165 1,079 777 1,146 1,026 1,161

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

127 116 66 186 140 58 184 85 153

Accommodation and food services

789 771 695 979 939 718 963 941 1,008

Other services

250 239 226 243 209 180 242 197 191

Government

715 668 598 352 343 331 343 413 329

Federal(1)

88 98 95 43 52 53 45 134 48

State and local

626 571 502 309 291 278 298 279 282

State and local education

234 198 194 153 127 132 164 133 127

State and local, excluding education(1)

393 373 308 156 164 147 134 147 154




RATES BY INDUSTRY
(percent)


Total

4.1 4.4 4.5 3.9 4.2 3.9 3.8 3.9 3.8

Total private

4.3 4.6 4.8 4.3 4.6 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.2

Mining and logging(1)

1.8 2.4 2.4 3.6 3.9 4.0 4.3 3.2 2.9

Construction(1)

2.8 3.0 2.6 6.2 5.4 5.6 5.7 4.9 4.9

Manufacturing

2.7 3.8 3.7 2.6 3.2 3.2 2.7 3.0 3.0

Durable goods(1)

2.7 3.1 3.3 2.4 2.9 2.9 2.4 2.7 2.7

Nondurable goods(1)

2.8 5.0 4.4 3.0 3.8 3.8 3.1 3.5 3.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.2 4.8 4.7 4.0 4.0 3.9

Wholesale trade

3.1 3.1 2.9 2.2 2.7 2.9 2.1 2.4 2.5

Retail trade

4.6 4.3 4.7 4.9 4.8 5.4 4.7 4.7 4.6

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities(1)

3.8 5.0 4.8 4.1 6.7 4.5 4.0 3.9 3.3

Information(1)

4.8 3.0 3.5 3.0 2.8 2.5 2.9 2.7 2.7

Financial activities

3.5 2.9 3.1 2.5 2.5 2.3 2.3 2.1 2.0

Finance and insurance

3.5 3.1 3.3 2.1 2.2 2.0 2.1 2.0 1.8

Real estate and rental and leasing(1)

3.4 2.5 2.5 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.0 2.6 2.5

Professional and business services

5.4 5.6 6.9 5.4 5.8 5.7 5.3 5.5 5.1

Education and health services

4.7 5.2 5.1 3.0 3.1 3.0 2.8 2.9 2.9

Educational services(1)

2.7 2.8 2.4 2.7 2.7 2.3 2.5 2.5 3.1

Health care and social assistance

5.0 5.6 5.5 3.0 3.1 3.1 2.9 2.9 2.9

Leisure and hospitality

5.2 6.2 5.5 6.9 8.0 6.0 6.8 7.6 9.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

4.9 6.1 3.8 7.5 7.8 3.5 7.4 4.8 9.1

Accommodation and food services

5.2 6.2 5.8 6.8 8.0 6.4 6.7 8.1 8.9

Other services

4.1 4.2 4.0 4.1 3.8 3.3 4.1 3.6 3.5

Government

3.1 3.0 2.7 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.9 1.5

Federal(1)

3.0 3.3 3.2 1.5 1.8 1.8 1.6 4.6 1.6

State and local

3.1 3.0 2.6 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

State and local education

2.2 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.4 1.3

State and local, excluding education(1)

4.0 4.0 3.3 1.7 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.7

Footnotes
(1) No regular seasonal movements could be identified in the job openings series, therefore, the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data are identical.
(p) Preliminary


Technical Note

Special technical note:  This technical note describes the procedures regularly used on a monthly basis to develop 
estimates from JOLTS survey responses. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the procedures described in this technical 
note have been modified. The modifications are briefly described in the box note in the news release and are 
described in more detail at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-job-openings-and-labor-turnover-data.htm.

This news release presents statistics from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The JOLTS 
program provides information on labor demand and turnover. Additional information about the JOLTS program can 
be found at www.bls.gov/jlt/. Estimates are published for job openings, hires, quits, layoffs and discharges, 
other separations, and total separations. The JOLTS program covers all private nonfarm establishments, as well as 
federal, state, and local government entities in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Industries are classified in 
accordance with the North American Industry Classification System.

Definitions

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 vacation or other paid leave. Proprietors or partners of 
unincorporated businesses, unpaid family workers, or employees on strike for the entire pay period, and employees 
on leave without pay 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.  Job openings include all positions that are open on the last business day of the reference month. 

A job is open only if it meets all three of these conditions: 
* A specific position exists and there is work available for that position. The position can be full-time or part-
time, and it can be permanent, short-term, or seasonal. 
* The job could start within 30 days, whether or not the employer can find a suitable candidate during that time. 
* The employer is actively recruiting workers from outside the establishment to fill the position. Active 
recruiting means that the establishment is taking steps to fill a position. It may include advertising in 
newspapers, on television, or on the radio; posting Internet notices, posting “help wanted” signs, 
networking or making “word-of-mouth” announcements; accepting applications; interviewing candidates; 
contacting employment agencies; or soliciting employees at job fairs, state or local employment offices, or 
similar sources.

Excluded are positions open only to internal transfers, promotions or demotions, or recall from layoffs. Also 
excluded are openings for positions with start dates more than 30 days in the future, positions for which employees 
have been hired but the employees have not yet reported for work, and positions 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 include all additions to the payroll during the entire reference month, including newly hired and 
rehired employees; full-time and part-time employees; permanent, short-term, and seasonal employees; employees 
who were recalled to a job at the location following a layoff (formal suspension from pay status) lasting more than 7 
days; on-call or intermittent employees who returned to work after having been formally separated; workers who 
were hired and separated during the month, and transfers from other locations. Excluded are transfers or promotions 
within the reporting location, employees returning from strike, employees of temporary help agencies, 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 include all separations from the payroll during the entire reference month and is 
reported by type of separation: quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Quits include employees who 
left voluntarily with the exception of retirements or transfers to other locations. Layoffs and discharges includes 
involuntary separations initiated by the employer including layoffs with no intent to rehire; layoffs (formal 
suspensions from pay status) 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 (whether or not they are expected to return the next season). Other 
separations include retirements, transfers to other locations, separations due to employee disability; and deaths. 
Excluded from separations are transfers within the same location; employees on strike; employees of temporary help 
agencies, employee leasing companies, outside contractors, or consultants. 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.

Estimation Method

The JOLTS survey design is a stratified random sample of 20,700 nonfarm business and government 
establishments. The sample is stratified by ownership, region, industry sector, and establishment size class. The 
establishments are drawn from a universe of over 9.4 million establishments compiled by the Quarterly Census of 
Employment and Wages (QCEW) program which includes all employers subject to state unemployment insurance 
laws and federal agencies subject to the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees program.

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.

Birth/death model.  The time lag from the start up, or birth, of an establishment until its appearance on the 
sampling frame is approximately one year. Also within the first year, new businesses may go out of business, 
referred to as a death. Because not all births and deaths of establishments can be reflected on the sampling frame 
immediately, the JOLTS sample cannot capture job openings, hires, and separations from them during their early 
existence. BLS has developed a birth/death model that uses establishment birth and death activity from previous 
years. The estimates of job openings, hires, and separations produced by the birth/death model are added to the 
sample-based estimates produced from the survey to arrive at the estimates for job openings, hires, and separations.

Alignment.  The JOLTS figure for hires minus separations can be used to derive a measure of net employment 
change. This change should be comparable to the net employment change from the much larger CES survey. 
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. There are four steps to this method: 
seasonally adjust, align, back out the seasonal adjustment factors, and re-seasonally adjust.

Seasonal adjustment.  BLS uses X-13 ARIMA for seasonal adjustment. 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 current month data. JOLTS seasonal adjustment includes both additive and multiplicative models 
and REGARIMA (regression with auto-correlated 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. The seasonally adjusted CES 
employment trends are applied to the seasonally adjusted JOLTS implied employment trends (hires minus 
separations) forcing them to be approximately the same, while preserving the seasonality of the JOLTS data. 

Annual estimates.  The JOLTS estimates are revised annually to reflect annual updates to the CES employment 
estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors. The JOLTS employment levels (not published) are ratio-
adjusted to the CES employment levels, and the resulting ratios are applied to all JOLTS data elements. The 
seasonally adjusted data are recalculated for the most recent 5 years in order to reflect updated seasonal adjustment 
factors. These annual updates result in revisions to both the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted JOLTS 
data series, for the period since the last benchmark was established.

Annual levels for hires, quits, layoffs and discharges, other separations, and total separations are the sum of the 
12 published monthly levels. Annual rates 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. Consistent with BLS practice, annual estimates are 
published only for not seasonally adjusted data and are released with the January news release each year. 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.

Reliability of the estimates

JOLTS estimates are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. Nonsampling error occurs when a sample 
is surveyed rather than the entire population. There is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the true 
population values they represent. The difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample 
selected. 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. Sampling error estimates are available at www.bls.gov/jlt/jolts_median_standard_errors.htm.

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 and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sept.
2020
Oct.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sept.
2020
Oct.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

Total

6,552 6,352 6,494 6,632 6,572 6,646 4.1 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.5

INDUSTRY

Total private

5,838 5,636 5,795 5,936 5,904 6,048 4.3 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.8

Mining and logging(3)

13 15 17 21 16 16 1.8 2.4 2.7 3.2 2.4 2.4

Construction(3)

216 275 223 246 232 195 2.8 3.7 3.0 3.2 3.0 2.6

Manufacturing

360 469 492 531 487 475 2.7 3.7 3.9 4.2 3.8 3.7

Durable goods(3)

222 249 267 296 246 263 2.7 3.2 3.4 3.7 3.1 3.3

Nondurable goods(3)

138 220 225 236 241 211 2.8 4.6 4.7 4.9 5.0 4.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,192 1,130 1,142 1,083 1,185 1,229 4.1 4.1 4.1 3.9 4.2 4.3

Wholesale trade

187 187 180 180 182 170 3.1 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.1 2.9

Retail trade

762 705 671 643 686 748 4.6 4.5 4.3 4.1 4.3 4.7

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities(3)

244 238 291 260 317 311 3.8 3.9 4.7 4.2 5.0 4.8

Information(3)

146 82 121 122 81 96 4.8 3.1 4.4 4.5 3.0 3.5

Financial activities

319 284 301 291 262 280 3.5 3.2 3.4 3.2 2.9 3.1

Finance and insurance

235 222 240 215 206 223 3.5 3.3 3.6 3.2 3.1 3.3

Real estate and rental and leasing(3)

84 61 61 76 56 57 3.4 2.7 2.7 3.3 2.5 2.5

Professional and business services

1,223 1,195 1,268 1,220 1,227 1,523 5.4 5.6 5.9 5.6 5.6 6.9

Education and health services

1,203 1,182 1,215 1,373 1,288 1,247 4.7 4.9 5.0 5.6 5.2 5.1

Educational services(3)

106 108 106 122 99 82 2.7 3.0 2.9 3.4 2.8 2.4

Health care and social assistance

1,097 1,074 1,110 1,250 1,189 1,165 5.0 5.2 5.3 5.9 5.6 5.5

Leisure and hospitality

916 761 772 817 888 761 5.2 5.7 5.6 5.8 6.2 5.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

127 83 86 99 116 66 4.9 4.9 4.8 5.4 6.1 3.8

Accommodation and food services

789 678 686 718 771 695 5.2 5.8 5.7 5.8 6.2 5.8

Other services

250 242 243 233 239 226 4.1 4.3 4.3 4.1 4.2 4.0

Government

715 716 699 696 668 598 3.1 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.0 2.7

Federal(3)

88 123 95 94 98 95 3.0 3.7 2.9 3.1 3.3 3.2

State and local

626 594 605 601 571 502 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.0 2.6

State and local education

234 199 207 221 198 194 2.2 2.0 2.1 2.3 2.0 2.0

State and local, excluding education(3)

393 394 397 380 373 308 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.0 3.3

REGION(4)

Northeast

1,135 1,080 1,101 1,163 1,156 1,173 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.3 4.2 4.3

South

2,439 2,512 2,584 2,583 2,544 2,613 4.2 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.8

Midwest

1,400 1,366 1,388 1,426 1,420 1,395 4.1 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.4 4.3

West

1,578 1,394 1,421 1,460 1,452 1,464 4.3 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.2

Footnotes
(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) No regular seasonal movements could be identified in this series; therefore, identical numbers appear for the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted series.
(4) 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 and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sept.
2020
Oct.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sept.
2020
Oct.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

Total

5,927 5,952 5,886 5,912 5,935 5,539 3.9 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 3.9

INDUSTRY

Total private

5,574 5,394 5,570 5,578 5,592 5,208 4.3 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.3

Mining and logging

25 16 19 17 25 25 3.6 2.6 3.1 2.8 3.9 4.0

Construction

467 396 394 400 395 416 6.2 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.6

Manufacturing

334 384 374 376 396 396 2.6 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.2

Durable goods

192 207 207 218 221 220 2.4 2.7 2.7 2.9 2.9 2.9

Nondurable goods

142 177 166 158 175 176 3.0 3.9 3.6 3.4 3.8 3.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,161 1,248 1,255 1,278 1,287 1,261 4.2 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.7

Wholesale trade

133 135 212 135 153 166 2.2 2.4 3.8 2.4 2.7 2.9

Retail trade

772 863 745 777 724 818 4.9 5.7 4.9 5.1 4.8 5.4

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

256 250 299 366 410 277 4.1 4.3 5.1 6.2 6.7 4.5

Information

87 87 103 103 73 66 3.0 3.4 3.9 3.9 2.8 2.5

Financial activities

218 217 238 227 215 204 2.5 2.5 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.3

Finance and insurance

135 145 162 144 142 131 2.1 2.2 2.5 2.2 2.2 2.0

Real estate and rental and leasing

83 73 76 84 73 74 3.5 3.3 3.4 3.8 3.3 3.3

Professional and business services

1,151 1,170 1,108 1,116 1,200 1,182 5.4 5.8 5.5 5.5 5.8 5.7

Education and health services

723 719 725 735 714 702 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.1 3.0

Educational services

104 93 70 91 92 77 2.7 2.6 2.0 2.6 2.7 2.3

Health care and social assistance

619 626 655 644 622 625 3.0 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.1

Leisure and hospitality

1,165 934 1,053 1,044 1,079 777 6.9 7.4 8.0 7.8 8.0 6.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

186 129 115 132 140 58 7.5 8.0 6.8 7.6 7.8 3.5

Accommodation and food services

979 806 938 912 939 718 6.8 7.3 8.2 7.8 8.0 6.4

Other services

243 222 302 282 209 180 4.1 4.1 5.5 5.1 3.8 3.3

Government

352 558 316 334 343 331 1.6 2.5 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.5

Federal

43 315 59 50 52 53 1.5 10.0 1.9 1.7 1.8 1.8

State and local

309 243 257 284 291 278 1.6 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.5

State and local education

153 105 114 128 127 132 1.5 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4

State and local, excluding education

156 138 143 156 164 147 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.6

REGION(3)

Northeast

935 1,017 982 985 957 908 3.4 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.5

South

2,358 2,278 2,297 2,353 2,434 2,202 4.2 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.7 4.2

Midwest

1,263 1,311 1,181 1,227 1,313 1,236 3.8 4.3 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.0

West

1,371 1,346 1,425 1,347 1,230 1,194 3.9 4.1 4.3 4.1 3.7 3.6

Footnotes
(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) 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 3. Total separations levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sept.
2020
Oct.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sept.
2020
Oct.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

Total

5,762 4,689 4,844 5,142 5,523 5,460 3.8 3.3 3.4 3.6 3.9 3.8

INDUSTRY

Total private

5,419 4,413 4,504 4,674 5,110 5,130 4.2 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.2 4.2

Mining and logging

31 19 23 21 20 18 4.3 3.1 3.6 3.3 3.2 2.9

Construction

432 324 290 331 361 366 5.7 4.5 4.0 4.5 4.9 4.9

Manufacturing

342 332 354 350 366 374 2.7 2.7 2.9 2.9 3.0 3.0

Durable goods

193 190 206 200 205 208 2.4 2.5 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.7

Nondurable goods

149 141 148 150 161 166 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.5 3.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,115 1,103 1,063 1,123 1,088 1,055 4.0 4.2 4.0 4.2 4.0 3.9

Wholesale trade

123 152 125 131 137 145 2.1 2.7 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5

Retail trade

741 719 687 739 715 709 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.9 4.7 4.6

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

250 232 251 253 235 201 4.0 4.0 4.3 4.3 3.9 3.3

Information

84 57 51 56 71 70 2.9 2.2 1.9 2.1 2.7 2.7

Financial activities

203 205 190 193 186 171 2.3 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.0

Finance and insurance

134 133 111 111 129 115 2.1 2.1 1.7 1.7 2.0 1.8

Real estate and rental and leasing

69 72 79 82 57 56 3.0 3.3 3.6 3.7 2.6 2.5

Professional and business services

1,134 960 989 1,011 1,129 1,052 5.3 4.8 4.9 4.9 5.5 5.1

Education and health services

690 606 618 647 667 674 2.8 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.9

Educational services

97 59 64 80 88 105 2.5 1.7 1.9 2.3 2.5 3.1

Health care and social assistance

593 547 553 567 580 568 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.9 2.9 2.9

Leisure and hospitality

1,146 708 737 777 1,026 1,161 6.8 5.6 5.6 5.8 7.6 9.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

184 53 84 100 85 153 7.4 3.3 5.0 5.7 4.8 9.1

Accommodation and food services

963 655 653 678 941 1,008 6.7 5.9 5.7 5.8 8.1 8.9

Other services

242 98 190 163 197 191 4.1 1.8 3.5 3.0 3.6 3.5

Government

343 276 340 469 413 329 1.5 1.3 1.6 2.2 1.9 1.5

Federal

45 57 90 202 134 48 1.6 1.8 2.9 6.8 4.6 1.6

State and local

298 219 250 266 279 282 1.5 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.5

State and local education

164 116 129 135 133 127 1.6 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.3

State and local, excluding education

134 103 121 132 147 154 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.7

REGION(3)

Northeast

887 702 710 851 889 878 3.2 2.7 2.7 3.3 3.4 3.4

South

2,249 1,895 1,912 2,032 2,060 2,072 4.0 3.7 3.7 3.9 3.9 4.0

Midwest

1,220 1,055 1,098 1,181 1,274 1,186 3.7 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.1 3.8

West

1,406 1,037 1,125 1,078 1,300 1,323 4.0 3.2 3.4 3.3 3.9 4.0

Footnotes
(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) 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 4. Quits levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sept.
2020
Oct.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sept.
2020
Oct.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

Total

3,528 2,839 3,074 3,150 3,180 3,286 2.3 2.0 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.3

INDUSTRY

Total private

3,331 2,696 2,920 2,972 3,011 3,117 2.6 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.5 2.6

Mining and logging

13 7 9 9 12 9 1.8 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.9 1.4

Construction

170 103 142 122 164 183 2.2 1.4 2.0 1.7 2.2 2.5

Manufacturing

206 207 235 216 234 230 1.6 1.7 1.9 1.8 1.9 1.9

Durable goods

110 117 129 119 127 129 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.7

Nondurable goods

97 90 106 97 106 100 2.0 2.0 2.3 2.1 2.3 2.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

734 722 702 732 722 762 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.8

Wholesale trade

77 86 92 91 72 93 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.3 1.6

Retail trade

507 502 466 500 517 518 3.2 3.3 3.1 3.3 3.4 3.4

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

150 134 144 141 132 151 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.2 2.5

Information

41 29 29 33 40 38 1.4 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.4

Financial activities

127 126 106 119 111 98 1.4 1.5 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.1

Finance and insurance

88 89 65 67 76 70 1.4 1.4 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.1

Real estate and rental and leasing(3)

40 37 40 52 36 28 1.7 1.7 1.8 2.3 1.6 1.2

Professional and business services

622 558 627 599 610 597 2.9 2.8 3.1 2.9 3.0 2.9

Education and health services

500 398 425 464 434 458 2.0 1.7 1.8 2.0 1.9 2.0

Educational services

66 32 32 41 45 53 1.7 0.9 0.9 1.2 1.3 1.6

Health care and social assistance

434 366 392 423 389 405 2.1 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.0

Leisure and hospitality

771 488 536 574 566 629 4.6 3.8 4.1 4.3 4.2 4.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

72 15 38 52 48 64 2.9 0.9 2.2 3.0 2.7 3.8

Accommodation and food services

698 473 498 522 518 564 4.9 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.4 5.0

Other services

147 58 110 104 119 115 2.5 1.1 2.0 1.9 2.2 2.1

Government

197 142 155 178 169 169 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8

Federal

23 19 20 29 24 20 0.8 0.6 0.6 1.0 0.8 0.7

State and local

174 124 134 149 146 149 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8

State and local education

98 66 70 72 72 71 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.7

State and local, excluding education

76 58 65 77 74 78 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.9

REGION(4)

Northeast

462 389 425 455 455 419 1.7 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.6

South

1,452 1,233 1,303 1,344 1,365 1,403 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.7

Midwest

760 633 680 701 700 771 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.5

West

854 583 667 650 659 693 2.4 1.8 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.1

Footnotes
(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) No regular seasonal movements could be identified in this series; therefore, identical numbers appear for the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted series.
(4) 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 5. Layoffs and discharges levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sept.
2020
Oct.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sept.
2020
Oct.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

Total

1,893 1,533 1,437 1,676 2,055 1,812 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.3

INDUSTRY

Total private

1,815 1,464 1,311 1,454 1,869 1,725 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.5 1.4

Mining and logging

17 11 11 11 8 9 2.3 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.2 1.4

Construction

243 206 135 197 187 170 3.2 2.9 1.9 2.7 2.5 2.3

Manufacturing

110 102 97 111 112 120 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0

Durable goods

67 60 65 67 63 68 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.9

Nondurable goods

43 42 32 44 49 52 0.9 0.9 0.7 1.0 1.1 1.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

323 340 302 323 321 234 1.2 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.2 0.9

Wholesale trade(3)

35 61 21 33 59 38 0.6 1.1 0.4 0.6 1.0 0.7

Retail trade

197 194 191 198 174 160 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.1 1.0

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

90 85 90 92 88 36 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 0.6

Information

37 25 17 21 27 29 1.3 1.0 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.1

Financial activities

48 52 60 49 54 51 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6

Finance and insurance

24 21 26 20 37 25 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.4

Real estate and rental and leasing

24 31 34 29 17 26 1.0 1.4 1.5 1.3 0.8 1.2

Professional and business services

454 352 305 358 452 381 2.1 1.8 1.5 1.8 2.2 1.8

Education and health services

150 164 155 154 201 166 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.7

Educational services

26 21 28 35 38 45 0.7 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.1 1.3

Health care and social assistance

124 143 127 119 163 121 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.6

Leisure and hospitality

342 188 166 177 437 500 2.0 1.5 1.3 1.3 3.2 3.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

108 35 44 46 35 85 4.3 2.1 2.6 2.6 1.9 5.0

Accommodation and food services

234 154 122 130 402 416 1.6 1.4 1.1 1.1 3.4 3.7

Other services

91 23 63 54 71 66 1.5 0.4 1.1 1.0 1.3 1.2

Government

78 69 127 222 186 87 0.3 0.3 0.6 1.0 0.9 0.4

Federal

9 23 60 152 97 10 0.3 0.7 1.9 5.1 3.4 0.4

State and local

69 46 67 70 88 77 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4

State and local education

40 26 34 40 37 30 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3

State and local, excluding education

29 20 33 30 51 47 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.5

REGION(4)

Northeast

347 264 232 352 380 388 1.2 1.0 0.9 1.3 1.5 1.5

South

692 540 476 552 608 538 1.2 1.0 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.0

Midwest

389 355 351 417 505 344 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.6 1.1

West

464 374 378 355 561 542 1.3 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.7 1.6

Footnotes
(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) No regular seasonal movements could be identified in this series; therefore, identical numbers appear for the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted series.
(4) 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 6. Other separations levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sept.
2020
Oct.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sept.
2020
Oct.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

Total

341 317 333 317 288 362 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3

INDUSTRY

Total private

272 253 274 248 230 289 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

Mining and logging

1 1 3 1 1 1 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.1

Construction(3)

19 15 12 12 10 13 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2

Manufacturing

26 23 22 23 20 24 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

Durable goods

16 13 12 14 15 11 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1

Nondurable goods(3)

9 10 10 9 6 13 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

58 41 59 68 45 58 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2

Wholesale trade

10 5 11 7 6 13 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2

Retail trade

38 23 30 41 25 31 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities(3)

10 13 18 20 15 14 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2

Information(3)

6 3 4 2 3 3 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1

Financial activities

27 27 25 25 21 22 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3

Finance and insurance

22 23 19 24 16 20 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.3

Real estate and rental and leasing(3)

5 4 5 1 5 2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1

Professional and business services

58 50 58 55 67 74 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4

Education and health services

39 44 38 29 32 50 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2

Educational services

4 5 5 4 5 8 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2

Health care and social assistance(3)

35 38 34 25 27 42 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2

Leisure and hospitality

34 32 35 27 23 32 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation(3)

3 4 2 2 2 4 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2

Accommodation and food services(3)

30 28 33 25 21 28 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3

Other services(3)

4 16 18 6 7 10 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2

Government

68 64 59 69 58 73 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

Federal

13 15 10 21 13 18 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.7 0.4 0.6

State and local

56 50 48 48 46 55 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3

State and local education

27 25 25 23 24 27 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3

State and local, excluding education

29 25 24 25 21 29 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3

REGION(4)

Northeast

77 48 53 45 54 71 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3

South

104 121 133 136 87 131 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3

Midwest

71 67 67 64 68 71 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

West

88 80 80 73 79 89 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3

Footnotes
(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) No regular seasonal movements could be identified in this series; therefore, identical numbers appear for the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted series.
(4) 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

NOTE: Levels are rounded to the nearest thousand and rates are rounded to the nearest tenth. Levels and rates may round down to zero.


Table 7. Job openings levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

Total

5,974 6,320 6,178 3.8 4.2 4.1

INDUSTRY

Total private

5,282 5,659 5,597 3.9 4.4 4.4

Mining and logging

13 16 16 1.8 2.4 2.4

Construction

216 232 195 2.8 3.0 2.6

Manufacturing

360 487 475 2.7 3.8 3.7

Durable goods

222 246 263 2.7 3.1 3.3

Nondurable goods

138 241 211 2.8 4.9 4.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,045 1,153 1,149 3.5 4.0 4.0

Wholesale trade

168 165 152 2.7 2.8 2.6

Retail trade

633 671 685 3.8 4.1 4.2

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

244 317 311 3.6 4.8 4.6

Information

146 81 96 4.8 3.0 3.5

Financial activities

306 245 267 3.4 2.7 3.0

Finance and insurance

222 190 210 3.3 2.8 3.1

Real estate and rental and leasing

84 56 57 3.4 2.5 2.5

Professional and business services

1,069 1,144 1,398 4.7 5.2 6.3

Education and health services

1,147 1,241 1,197 4.5 5.0 4.9

Educational services

106 99 82 2.7 2.7 2.3

Health care and social assistance

1,041 1,143 1,115 4.8 5.4 5.3

Leisure and hospitality

744 836 586 4.3 5.9 4.4

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

98 97 37 4.1 5.5 2.3

Accommodation and food services

646 739 550 4.4 6.0 4.7

Other services

236 225 218 3.8 3.9 3.8

Government

691 661 580 2.9 2.9 2.6

Federal

88 98 95 3.0 3.2 3.2

State and local

603 563 485 2.9 2.9 2.5

State and local education

211 191 177 1.9 1.9 1.7

State and local, excluding education

393 373 308 4.1 4.0 3.3

REGION(3)

Northeast

1,055 1,119 1,104 3.6 4.1 4.0

South

2,245 2,470 2,463 3.8 4.5 4.5

Midwest

1,255 1,381 1,258 3.6 4.2 3.9

West

1,418 1,350 1,352 3.8 3.9 3.9

Footnotes
(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) 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 8. Hires levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

Total

4,407 5,532 4,170 2.9 3.8 2.9

INDUSTRY

Total private

4,199 5,243 3,976 3.2 4.3 3.3

Mining and logging

16 22 17 2.2 3.5 2.7

Construction

264 299 261 3.5 4.0 3.6

Manufacturing

226 354 297 1.8 2.9 2.4

Durable goods

130 204 165 1.6 2.7 2.2

Nondurable goods

96 150 132 2.0 3.2 2.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

950 1,554 1,060 3.3 5.7 3.8

Wholesale trade

97 133 134 1.6 2.4 2.3

Retail trade

584 876 645 3.6 5.7 4.1

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

269 544 281 4.2 8.7 4.3

Information

63 71 44 2.2 2.7 1.6

Financial activities

155 185 136 1.8 2.1 1.6

Finance and insurance

97 124 88 1.5 1.9 1.4

Real estate and rental and leasing

58 61 48 2.5 2.7 2.2

Professional and business services

962 1,097 996 4.5 5.3 4.8

Education and health services

529 594 504 2.1 2.5 2.1

Educational services

61 67 37 1.6 1.9 1.1

Health care and social assistance

468 527 467 2.3 2.6 2.3

Leisure and hospitality

860 892 542 5.2 6.7 4.3

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

120 105 39 5.2 6.2 2.4

Accommodation and food services

739 787 503 5.2 6.8 4.5

Other services

174 175 120 3.0 3.2 2.2

Government

208 289 194 0.9 1.3 0.9

Federal

33 67 44 1.2 2.3 1.5

State and local

175 221 150 0.9 1.2 0.8

State and local education

77 88 62 0.7 0.9 0.6

State and local, excluding education

98 134 88 1.1 1.5 1.0

REGION(3)

Northeast

666 870 640 2.4 3.3 2.4

South

1,814 2,273 1,712 3.2 4.3 3.2

Midwest

915 1,242 948 2.7 4.0 3.0

West

1,012 1,146 871 2.8 3.4 2.6

Footnotes
(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) 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 9. Total separations levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

Total

5,482 5,042 5,395 3.6 3.5 3.8

INDUSTRY

Total private

5,183 4,711 5,088 4.0 3.9 4.2

Mining and logging

33 15 19 4.6 2.5 3.0

Construction

474 372 422 6.4 5.0 5.8

Manufacturing

286 334 334 2.2 2.7 2.7

Durable goods

161 175 182 2.0 2.3 2.4

Nondurable goods

125 159 152 2.6 3.4 3.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,149 1,031 1,114 4.0 3.8 4.0

Wholesale trade

106 122 131 1.8 2.2 2.3

Retail trade

748 699 730 4.6 4.5 4.6

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

295 209 253 4.6 3.4 3.9

Information

80 64 71 2.8 2.4 2.7

Financial activities

180 169 149 2.0 1.9 1.7

Finance and insurance

115 115 98 1.8 1.8 1.5

Real estate and rental and leasing

65 53 51 2.8 2.4 2.3

Professional and business services

1,155 1,048 1,069 5.3 5.0 5.1

Education and health services

592 558 593 2.4 2.4 2.5

Educational services

69 55 91 1.8 1.5 2.6

Health care and social assistance

523 503 502 2.5 2.5 2.5

Leisure and hospitality

1,005 942 1,125 6.1 7.1 8.8

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

174 105 171 7.5 6.3 10.8

Accommodation and food services

831 837 954 5.9 7.2 8.6

Other services

229 178 192 3.9 3.2 3.5

Government

299 332 308 1.3 1.5 1.4

Federal

49 133 53 1.7 4.6 1.8

State and local

249 198 255 1.2 1.0 1.4

State and local education

127 68 107 1.2 0.7 1.1

State and local, excluding education

123 131 148 1.3 1.5 1.7

REGION(3)

Northeast

884 829 892 3.2 3.1 3.4

South

2,070 1,819 2,017 3.7 3.4 3.8

Midwest

1,193 1,219 1,170 3.6 3.9 3.7

West

1,335 1,175 1,316 3.8 3.5 3.9

Footnotes
(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) 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 10. Quits levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

Total

2,978 2,749 2,934 1.9 1.9 2.0

INDUSTRY

Total private

2,827 2,618 2,794 2.2 2.1 2.3

Mining and logging

9 9 6 1.3 1.4 0.9

Construction

137 137 162 1.8 1.8 2.2

Manufacturing

148 201 186 1.2 1.6 1.5

Durable goods

78 104 103 1.0 1.4 1.3

Nondurable goods

70 97 83 1.5 2.1 1.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

658 687 725 2.3 2.5 2.6

Wholesale trade

61 59 78 1.0 1.0 1.4

Retail trade

439 503 478 2.7 3.2 3.0

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

159 125 169 2.5 2.0 2.6

Information

35 38 33 1.2 1.4 1.3

Financial activities

113 107 89 1.3 1.2 1.0

Finance and insurance

74 72 61 1.1 1.1 0.9

Real estate and rental and leasing

40 36 28 1.7 1.6 1.2

Professional and business services

540 543 518 2.5 2.6 2.5

Education and health services

435 356 423 1.8 1.5 1.8

Educational services

46 30 45 1.2 0.8 1.3

Health care and social assistance

389 326 378 1.9 1.6 1.9

Leisure and hospitality

630 440 563 3.8 3.3 4.4

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

52 34 51 2.3 2.1 3.2

Accommodation and food services

578 406 511 4.1 3.5 4.6

Other services

121 100 91 2.0 1.8 1.7

Government

151 131 139 0.7 0.6 0.6

Federal

22 23 20 0.8 0.8 0.7

State and local

129 108 120 0.6 0.6 0.6

State and local education

68 44 53 0.6 0.4 0.5

State and local, excluding education

61 64 67 0.7 0.7 0.8

REGION(3)

Northeast

388 388 349 1.4 1.5 1.3

South

1,218 1,196 1,281 2.2 2.3 2.4

Midwest

636 609 669 1.9 1.9 2.1

West

736 556 636 2.1 1.7 1.9

Footnotes
(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) 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 11. Layoffs and discharges levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

Total

2,171 2,052 2,100 1.4 1.4 1.5

INDUSTRY

Total private

2,093 1,887 2,011 1.6 1.5 1.6

Mining and logging

22 6 13 3.1 0.9 2.0

Construction

318 225 247 4.3 3.0 3.4

Manufacturing

108 116 122 0.8 0.9 1.0

Durable goods

64 59 66 0.8 0.8 0.9

Nondurable goods

45 57 56 0.9 1.2 1.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

438 305 335 1.5 1.1 1.2

Wholesale trade

35 59 38 0.6 1.0 0.7

Retail trade

276 177 227 1.7 1.1 1.4

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

126 69 70 1.9 1.1 1.1

Information

40 23 34 1.4 0.9 1.3

Financial activities

45 45 44 0.5 0.5 0.5

Finance and insurance

25 32 23 0.4 0.5 0.3

Real estate and rental and leasing

20 13 21 0.9 0.6 0.9

Professional and business services

557 445 473 2.6 2.1 2.3

Education and health services

119 173 121 0.5 0.7 0.5

Educational services

20 23 39 0.5 0.6 1.1

Health care and social assistance

99 150 83 0.5 0.8 0.4

Leisure and hospitality

342 479 530 2.1 3.6 4.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

119 68 115 5.1 4.1 7.3

Accommodation and food services

223 411 414 1.6 3.6 3.7

Other services

105 71 91 1.8 1.3 1.7

Government

78 165 89 0.3 0.8 0.4

Federal

12 100 12 0.4 3.4 0.4

State and local

66 65 78 0.3 0.3 0.4

State and local education

40 13 32 0.4 0.1 0.3

State and local, excluding education

26 52 45 0.3 0.6 0.5

REGION(3)

Northeast

425 400 474 1.5 1.5 1.8

South

749 544 603 1.3 1.0 1.1

Midwest

478 556 426 1.4 1.8 1.4

West

519 552 597 1.5 1.7 1.8

Footnotes
(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) 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 12. Other separations levels and rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry and region Levels (in thousands) Rates(2)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)
Dec.
2019
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020(p)

Total

334 241 361 0.2 0.2 0.3

INDUSTRY

Total private

263 205 282 0.2 0.2 0.2

Mining and logging

1 1 1 0.2 0.1 0.1

Construction

19 10 13 0.3 0.1 0.2

Manufacturing

29 17 26 0.2 0.1 0.2

Durable goods

20 12 13 0.2 0.2 0.2

Nondurable goods

9 6 13 0.2 0.1 0.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

52 39 53 0.2 0.1 0.2

Wholesale trade

9 5 14 0.2 0.1 0.3

Retail trade

33 19 25 0.2 0.1 0.2

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

10 15 14 0.2 0.2 0.2

Information

6 3 3 0.2 0.1 0.1

Financial activities

22 17 17 0.2 0.2 0.2

Finance and insurance

16 12 15 0.3 0.2 0.2

Real estate and rental and leasing

5 5 2 0.2 0.2 0.1

Professional and business services

58 59 78 0.3 0.3 0.4

Education and health services

38 29 49 0.2 0.1 0.2

Educational services

3 2 7 0.1 0.1 0.2

Health care and social assistance

35 27 42 0.2 0.1 0.2

Leisure and hospitality

34 23 32 0.2 0.2 0.3

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

3 2 4 0.2 0.1 0.3

Accommodation and food services

30 21 28 0.2 0.2 0.3

Other services

4 7 10 0.1 0.1 0.2

Government

71 36 79 0.3 0.2 0.4

Federal

16 10 21 0.5 0.3 0.7

State and local

55 26 58 0.3 0.1 0.3

State and local education

19 11 22 0.2 0.1 0.2

State and local, excluding education

36 15 35 0.4 0.2 0.4

REGION(3)

Northeast

72 40 70 0.3 0.1 0.3

South

103 83 132 0.2 0.2 0.3

Midwest

79 54 75 0.2 0.2 0.2

West

80 65 84 0.2 0.2 0.3

Footnotes
(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) 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

NOTE: Levels are rounded to the nearest thousand and rates are rounded to the nearest tenth. Levels and rates may round down to zero.


Last Modified Date: February 09, 2021