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Economic News Release
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JOLTS JLT Program Links

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release

                                   
For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, December 13, 2011    USDL-11-1745

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 – October 2011

There were 3.3 million job openings on the last business day of
October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The hires
rate (3.1 percent) and separations rate (3.0 percent) were little
changed over the month. The job openings rate has trended upward since
the end of the recession in June 2009. (Recession dates are determined
by the National Bureau of Economic Research.) 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 October was 3.3 million, essentially
unchanged from 3.4 million in September. (See table 1.) Although the
number of job openings remained below the 4.4 million openings when
the recession began in December 2007, the level in October was 1.2
million higher than in July 2009 (the most recent trough for the
series). The number of job openings has increased 35 percent since the
end of the recession in June 2009.

The number of job openings in October (not seasonally adjusted)
increased over the year for total nonfarm and total private but was
little changed for government. A few industries and 3 out of 4 regions
experienced an increase over the year in the number of job openings.
(See table 5.)

Table A.  Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally
adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   |    Job openings    |       Hires        | Total separations
                   |--------------------------------------------------------------
     Industry      | Oct. | Sept.| Oct. | Oct. | Sept.| Oct. | Oct. | Sept.| Oct.
                   | 2010 | 2011 | 2011p| 2010 | 2011 | 2011p| 2010 | 2011 | 2011p
-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
                   |                     Levels (in thousands)
                   |--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............|2,905 |3,377 |3,267 |3,865 |4,150 |4,040 |3,702 |4,052 |3,932
                   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
 Total private(1)..|2,560 |3,003 |2,907 |3,580 |3,885 |3,782 |3,436 |3,763 |3,646
  Construction.....|   69 |   70 |   93 |  331 |  367 |  320 |  323 |  338 |  309
  Manufacturing....|  193 |  235 |  231 |  259 |  234 |  226 |  266 |  238 |  209
  Trade, trans-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   portation, and  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   utilities(2)....|  445 |  561 |  564 |  777 |  778 |  823 |  741 |  782 |  782
   Retail trade....|  272 |  328 |  321 |  545 |  547 |  549 |  527 |  546 |  523
  Professional     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   and business    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   services........|  575 |  675 |  618 |  730 |  895 |  833 |  709 |  850 |  809
  Education and    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   health ser-     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   vices...........|  569 |  616 |  602 |  465 |  482 |  464 |  408 |  414 |  436
  Leisure and      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   hospitality.....|  274 |  383 |  366 |  596 |  698 |  670 |  613 |  693 |  639
   Arts, enter-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    tainment and   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    recreation.....|   27 |   62 |   50 |   87 |  126 |  117 |  106 |  137 |   98
   Accommodation   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    and food       |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    services.......|  247 |  321 |  316 |  508 |  572 |  553 |  507 |  557 |  541
 Government(3).....|  345 |  374 |  360 |  285 |  264 |  258 |  265 |  289 |  287
  State and local  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   government......|  272 |  312 |  293 |  250 |  237 |  232 |  220 |  255 |  255
                   |--------------------------------------------------------------
                   |                       Rates (percent)
                   |--------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............|  2.2 |  2.5 |  2.4 |  3.0 |  3.2 |  3.1 |  2.8 |  3.1 |  3.0
                   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
 Total private(1)..|  2.3 |  2.7 |  2.6 |  3.3 |  3.6 |  3.5 |  3.2 |  3.4 |  3.3
  Construction.....|  1.2 |  1.3 |  1.7 |  6.0 |  6.6 |  5.8 |  5.9 |  6.1 |  5.6
  Manufacturing....|  1.6 |  2.0 |  1.9 |  2.2 |  2.0 |  1.9 |  2.3 |  2.0 |  1.8
  Trade, trans-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   portation, and  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   utilities(2)....|  1.8 |  2.2 |  2.2 |  3.1 |  3.1 |  3.3 |  3.0 |  3.1 |  3.1
   Retail trade....|  1.8 |  2.2 |  2.1 |  3.8 |  3.8 |  3.8 |  3.6 |  3.7 |  3.6
  Professional     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   and business    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   services........|  3.3 |  3.8 |  3.4 |  4.4 |  5.2 |  4.8 |  4.2 |  4.9 |  4.7
  Education and    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   health ser-     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   vices...........|  2.8 |  3.0 |  2.9 |  2.4 |  2.4 |  2.3 |  2.1 |  2.1 |  2.2
  Leisure and      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   hospitality.....|  2.1 |  2.8 |  2.7 |  4.6 |  5.3 |  5.0 |  4.7 |  5.2 |  4.8
   Arts, enter-    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    tainment and   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    recreation.....|  1.4 |  3.1 |  2.6 |  4.6 |  6.6 |  6.2 |  5.6 |  7.2 |  5.1
   Accommodation   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    and food       |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
    services.......|  2.2 |  2.8 |  2.7 |  4.5 |  5.0 |  4.9 |  4.5 |  4.9 |  4.8
 Government(3).....|  1.5 |  1.7 |  1.6 |  1.3 |  1.2 |  1.2 |  1.2 |  1.3 |  1.3
  State and local  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   government......|  1.4 |  1.6 |  1.5 |  1.3 |  1.2 |  1.2 |  1.1 |  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 federal government, not shown separately.
  p = Preliminary

Hires

In October, the hires rate was little changed at 3.1 percent for total
nonfarm. The hires rate was essentially unchanged over the month in
all industries and regions. (See table 2.) The number of hires in
October was 4.0 million, up from 3.6 million in October 2009 (the most
recent trough) but below the 5.0 million hires recorded when the
recession began in December 2007. The number of hires has edged up by
12 percent since the end of the recession in June 2009.

Over the past 12 months, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) was
little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The
hires rate was essentially unchanged over the year in every industry
except finance and insurance where the rate decreased, and real estate
and rental and leasing where the rate increased. The hires rate was
essentially unchanged in all four regions. (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 little changed in
October 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, total private, and
government. (See table 7.)

The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or
ability to change jobs. In October, the quits rate was unchanged for
total nonfarm, total private, and government. (See table 4.) The
number of quits rose from 1.5 million in January 2010 (the most recent
trough) to 1.9 million in October, although it remained below the 2.8
million recorded when the recession began in December 2007.

The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) in October 2011 was
little changed from 12 months earlier for total nonfarm, total
private, and government. Two industries experienced an over-the-year
change—mining and logging, and wholesale trade—where the number of
quits increased from October 2010. (See table 8.)

The layoffs and discharges component of total separations is
seasonally adjusted only at the total nonfarm, total private, and
government levels. The layoffs and discharges rate was essentially
unchanged in October 2011 for total nonfarm, total private, and
government. The number of layoffs and discharges for total nonfarm was
1.6 million in October, down from a peak of 2.5 million in February
2009, and below the 1.8 million layoffs and discharges at the start of
the recession in December 2007. (See table B.)

The layoffs and discharges level (not seasonally adjusted) for total
nonfarm, total private, and government was little changed over the 12
months ending in October 2011. Over the year, the number of layoffs
and discharges declined for durable goods manufacturing, nondurable
goods manufacturing, and finance and insurance. The number of layoffs
and discharges was little changed over the year in all four regions.
(See table 9.)

Table B.  Layoffs and discharges by industry, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                   | Levels (in thousands) |    Rates (percent)
                   |------------------------------------------------
     Industry      |  Oct. |  Sept.|  Oct. |  Oct. |  Sept.|  Oct.
                   |  2010 |  2011 |  2011p|  2010 |  2011 |  2011p
-------------------|------------------------------------------------
Total..............| 1,635 | 1,723 | 1,601 |  1.3  |  1.3  |  1.2
 Total private.....| 1,534 | 1,605 | 1,494 |  1.4  |  1.5  |  1.4
 Government........|   102 |   117 |   106 |  0.5  |  0.5  |  0.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------
  p = Preliminary

The other separations series is not seasonally adjusted. In October
2011, there were 356,000 other separations for total nonfarm, 315,000
for total private, and 41,000 for government. Compared to October
2010, the number of other separations was up for total nonfarm and
total private, but the same for government. (See table 10.)

Relative Contributions to Separations

The total separations level is influenced by the relative contribution
of its three components—quits, layoffs and discharges, and other
separations. Other separations is historically a very small portion of
total separations; it has rarely been above 10 percent of total
separations. The percentage of total separations attributable to the
individual components has varied over time at the total nonfarm level,
but for the majority of the months since the series began in December
2000, the proportion of quits has exceeded the proportion of layoffs
and discharges. For most of the months between November 2008 and
November 2010, however, the proportion of layoffs and discharges was
equal to or greater than the proportion of quits. Since November 2010,
the series have returned to their historical pattern. In October 2011,
the proportion of quits for total nonfarm was 49 percent, and the
proportion of layoffs and discharges was 41 percent. (See table C.)

Table C.  Quits and layoffs and discharges as a percentage of total separations, seasonally adjusted
(Levels in thousands)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   |                       Quits                      |             Layoffs and discharges
                   | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   |      Oct.      |      Sept.     |      Oct.      |      Oct.      |      Sept.     |      Oct.
                   |      2010      |      2011      |      2011p     |      2010      |      2011      |      2011p
     Industry      | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   |       |Portion |       |Portion |       |Portion |       |Portion |       |Portion |       |Portion
                   | Level |of total| Level |of total| Level |of total| Level |of total| Level |of total| Level |of total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............| 1,755 |   47%  | 2,000 |   49%  | 1,934 |   49%  | 1,635 |   44%  | 1,723 |   43%  | 1,601 |   41%
 Total private.....| 1,654 |   48%  | 1,884 |   50%  | 1,817 |   50%  | 1,534 |   45%  | 1,605 |   43%  | 1,494 |   41%
 Government........|   101 |   38%  |   116 |   40%  |   117 |   41%  |   102 |   38%  |   117 |   40%  |   106 |   37%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  p = Preliminary

Net Change in Employment

Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout
the business cycle. Over the 12 months ending in October 2011, hires
totaled 48.1 million and separations totaled 46.8 million, yielding a
net employment gain of 1.3 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 November 2011
are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 10:00
a.m. (EST). Scheduled release dates for 2012 are as follows:
     
               Dec.  — Feb. 7       June  — Aug. 7
               Jan.  — March 13     July  — Sept. 11
               Feb.  — April 10     Aug.  — Oct. 10
               March — May 8        Sept. — Nov. 6
               April — June 19      Oct.  — Dec. 11
               May   — July 10





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 2007 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 random sample of 16,000 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 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 monthly to the
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 to the present using an econometric technique known as X-12
ARIMA modeling. 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.

Using 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              Oct.   May    June   July   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Oct.  May   June  July  Aug.  Sept. Oct.
                                            2010   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011p  2010  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011p

Total.................................     2,905  3,034  3,169  3,213  3,129  3,377  3,267    2.2   2.3   2.4   2.4   2.3   2.5   2.4

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  2,560  2,725  2,835  2,905  2,799  3,003  2,907    2.3   2.4   2.5   2.6   2.5   2.7   2.6
  Construction...........................     69    100     68     75    102     70     93    1.2   1.8   1.2   1.3   1.8   1.3   1.7
  Manufacturing..........................    193    211    217    252    232    235    231    1.6   1.8   1.8   2.1   1.9   2.0   1.9
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)    445    484    515    540    490    561    564    1.8   1.9   2.0   2.1   1.9   2.2   2.2
   Retail trade..........................    272    276    332    312    324    328    321    1.8   1.9   2.2   2.1   2.2   2.2   2.1
  Professional and business services.....    575    615    616    640    621    675    618    3.3   3.5   3.5   3.6   3.5   3.8   3.4
  Education and health services..........    569    594    596    604    609    616    602    2.8   2.9   2.9   2.9   2.9   3.0   2.9
  Leisure and hospitality................    274    298    360    338    351    383    366    2.1   2.2   2.6   2.5   2.6   2.8   2.7
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...     27     34     55     62     44     62     50    1.4   1.8   2.8   3.2   2.3   3.1   2.6
   Accommodation and food services.......    247    264    305    276    307    321    316    2.2   2.3   2.6   2.4   2.6   2.8   2.7
 Government(6).........................      345    309    334    309    329    374    360    1.5   1.4   1.5   1.4   1.5   1.7   1.6
  State and local government.............    272    261    279    253    287    312    293    1.4   1.3   1.4   1.3   1.5   1.6   1.5


                 REGION(7)

  Northeast...........................       605    586    522    570    589    586    535    2.4   2.3   2.0   2.2   2.3   2.3   2.1
  South...............................     1,084  1,087  1,109  1,192  1,108  1,273  1,233    2.2   2.2   2.3   2.4   2.3   2.6   2.5
  Midwest.............................       584    730    686    714    732    704    694    1.9   2.4   2.3   2.3   2.4   2.3   2.3
  West................................       740    719    753    753    775    818    827    2.5   2.4   2.5   2.5   2.6   2.8   2.8


  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 federal government, not shown separately.
  7 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              Oct.   May    June   July   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Oct.  May   June  July  Aug.  Sept. Oct.
                                            2010   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011p  2010  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011p

Total.................................     3,865  4,129  4,058  3,976  4,060  4,150  4,040    3.0   3.2   3.1   3.0   3.1   3.2   3.1

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  3,580  3,870  3,797  3,733  3,785  3,885  3,782    3.3   3.6   3.5   3.4   3.5   3.6   3.5
  Construction...........................    331    371    360    334    309    367    320    6.0   6.7   6.5   6.0   5.6   6.6   5.8
  Manufacturing..........................    259    263    260    259    249    234    226    2.2   2.2   2.2   2.2   2.1   2.0   1.9
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)    777    804    802    767    779    778    823    3.1   3.2   3.2   3.1   3.1   3.1   3.3
   Retail trade..........................    545    557    553    552    526    547    549    3.8   3.8   3.8   3.8   3.6   3.8   3.8
  Professional and business services.....    730    902    806    819    863    895    833    4.4   5.3   4.7   4.8   5.0   5.2   4.8
  Education and health services..........    465    480    485    472    481    482    464    2.4   2.4   2.4   2.4   2.4   2.4   2.3
  Leisure and hospitality................    596    629    689    682    679    698    670    4.6   4.8   5.2   5.2   5.1   5.3   5.0
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...     87    111    104     96    110    126    117    4.6   5.9   5.5   5.1   5.8   6.6   6.2
   Accommodation and food services.......    508    517    585    586    569    572    553    4.5   4.6   5.2   5.2   5.0   5.0   4.9
 Government(6).........................      285    259    261    243    275    264    258    1.3   1.2   1.2   1.1   1.2   1.2   1.2
  State and local government.............    250    232    238    219    247    237    232    1.3   1.2   1.2   1.1   1.3   1.2   1.2


                 REGION(7)

  Northeast...........................       690    675    681    675    604    662    663    2.8   2.7   2.7   2.7   2.4   2.6   2.6
  South...............................     1,449  1,643  1,503  1,488  1,526  1,592  1,578    3.1   3.5   3.2   3.1   3.2   3.3   3.3
  Midwest.............................       880    890    908    910    919    987    915    3.0   3.0   3.1   3.1   3.1   3.3   3.1
  West................................       839    826    910    893    868    969    901    2.9   2.9   3.2   3.1   3.0   3.4   3.1


  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 federal government, not shown separately.
  7 See footnote 7, 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              Oct.   May    June   July   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Oct.  May   June  July  Aug.  Sept. Oct.
                                            2010   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011p  2010  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011p

Total.................................     3,702  4,145  3,993  3,962  3,960  4,052  3,932    2.8   3.2   3.0   3.0   3.0   3.1   3.0

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  3,436  3,844  3,687  3,659  3,688  3,763  3,646    3.2   3.5   3.4   3.4   3.4   3.4   3.3
  Construction...........................    323    376    371    327    320    338    309    5.9   6.8   6.7   5.9   5.8   6.1   5.6
  Manufacturing..........................    266    272    252    239    250    238    209    2.3   2.3   2.2   2.0   2.1   2.0   1.8
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)    741    799    785    770    762    782    782    3.0   3.2   3.1   3.1   3.1   3.1   3.1
   Retail trade..........................    527    562    538    547    521    546    523    3.6   3.9   3.7   3.8   3.6   3.7   3.6
  Professional and business services.....    709    892    766    806    824    850    809    4.2   5.2   4.5   4.7   4.8   4.9   4.7
  Education and health services..........    408    450    459    431    444    414    436    2.1   2.3   2.3   2.2   2.2   2.1   2.2
  Leisure and hospitality................    613    652    653    670    689    693    639    4.7   4.9   4.9   5.1   5.2   5.2   4.8
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...    106    123    101     97    113    137     98    5.6   6.6   5.3   5.1   6.0   7.2   5.1
   Accommodation and food services.......    507    528    552    573    576    557    541    4.5   4.7   4.9   5.1   5.1   4.9   4.8
 Government(6).........................      265    301    306    302    272    289    287    1.2   1.4   1.4   1.4   1.2   1.3   1.3
  State and local government.............    220    271    273    271    240    255    255    1.1   1.4   1.4   1.4   1.2   1.3   1.3


                 REGION(7)

  Northeast...........................       678    757    634    665    627    687    664    2.7   3.0   2.5   2.7   2.5   2.7   2.6
  South...............................     1,290  1,528  1,421  1,482  1,463  1,519  1,482    2.7   3.2   3.0   3.1   3.1   3.2   3.1
  Midwest.............................       822    942    934    905    903    877    879    2.8   3.2   3.1   3.0   3.0   2.9   2.9
  West................................       782    974    863    853    812    901    840    2.7   3.4   3.0   3.0   2.8   3.1   2.9


  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 federal government, not shown separately.
  7 See footnote 7, 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              Oct.   May    June   July   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Oct.  May   June  July  Aug.  Sept. Oct.
                                            2010   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011p  2010  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011p

Total.................................     1,755  2,000  1,904  1,969  2,006  2,000  1,934    1.4   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  1,654  1,877  1,786  1,839  1,889  1,884  1,817    1.5   1.7   1.6   1.7   1.7   1.7   1.7
  Construction...........................     77     92     75     71     66     84     78    1.4   1.7   1.3   1.3   1.2   1.5   1.4
  Manufacturing..........................     95    109    109    101     98     97    100     .8    .9    .9    .9    .8    .8    .9
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)    376    463    432    412    422    437    440    1.5   1.9   1.7   1.7   1.7   1.8   1.8
   Retail trade..........................    291    351    333    316    319    327    309    2.0   2.4   2.3   2.2   2.2   2.2   2.1
  Professional and business services.....    342    372    330    391    383    391    343    2.0   2.2   1.9   2.3   2.2   2.3   2.0
  Education and health services..........    228    253    264    238    268    246    236    1.2   1.3   1.3   1.2   1.3   1.2   1.2
  Leisure and hospitality................    357    388    395    401    432    406    390    2.7   2.9   3.0   3.0   3.3   3.1   2.9
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...     43     45     42     44     48     45     43    2.2   2.4   2.2   2.3   2.6   2.4   2.3
   Accommodation and food services.......    314    343    353    357    384    361    347    2.8   3.0   3.1   3.2   3.4   3.2   3.0
 Government(6).........................      101    123    117    130    117    116    117     .5    .6    .5    .6    .5    .5    .5
  State and local government.............     89    114    108    121    108    105    105     .5    .6    .6    .6    .6    .5    .5


                 REGION(7)

  Northeast...........................       266    330    264    264    285    275    266    1.1   1.3   1.1   1.1   1.1   1.1   1.1
  South...............................       679    816    744    782    821    836    766    1.4   1.7   1.6   1.6   1.7   1.8   1.6
  Midwest.............................       415    484    465    476    495    440    429    1.4   1.6   1.6   1.6   1.7   1.5   1.4
  West................................       377    460    406    460    447    433    437    1.3   1.6   1.4   1.6   1.5   1.5   1.5


  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 federal government, not shown separately.
  7 See footnote 7, 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                  Oct.     Sept.    Oct.          Oct.     Sept.    Oct.
                                                   2010     2011     2011p         2010     2011     2011p

Total...........................................  2,979    3,454    3,370           2.2      2.6      2.5

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  2,636    3,083    3,004           2.4      2.7      2.7
  Mining and Logging............................     18       32       15           2.3      3.8      1.8
  Construction..................................     61       74       87           1.1      1.3      1.5
  Manufacturing.................................    191      246      229           1.6      2.0      1.9
   Durable goods................................    134      170      154           1.8      2.3      2.1
   Nondurable goods.............................     57       76       75           1.3      1.7      1.7
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    479      625      614           1.9      2.4      2.4
   Wholesale trade..............................     77      126      131           1.4      2.2      2.3
   Retail trade.................................    315      373      379           2.1      2.5      2.5
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     87      125      105           1.8      2.5      2.1
  Information...................................     68      114      103           2.4      4.1      3.7
  Financial activities..........................    234      180      207           3.0      2.3      2.7
   Finance and insurance........................    199      144      154           3.4      2.5      2.6
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     35       37       54           1.8      1.8      2.7
  Professional and business services............    614      678      654           3.5      3.8      3.6
  Education and health services.................    581      604      615           2.8      2.9      2.9
   Educational services.........................     60       62       62           1.8      1.9      1.8
   Health care and social assistance............    521      542      552           3.1      3.1      3.2
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    273      405      364           2.1      2.9      2.7
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     30       60       55           1.6      3.0      2.8
   Accommodation and food services.............     243      344      309           2.1      2.9      2.6
  Other services................................    118      125      116           2.1      2.2      2.1

 Government.....................................    343      371      366           1.5      1.7      1.6
  Federal.......................................     71       54       72           2.4      1.9      2.5
  State and local...............................    272      318      294           1.4      1.6      1.5

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    623      603      562           2.4      2.3      2.2
  South.........................................  1,085    1,323    1,290           2.2      2.7      2.6
  Midwest.......................................    555      738      673           1.8      2.4      2.2
  West..........................................    716      790      845           2.4      2.7      2.8


  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 7, 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                  Oct.     Sept.    Oct.          Oct.     Sept.    Oct.
                                                   2010     2011     2011p         2010     2011     2011p

Total...........................................  3,984    4,396    4,091           3.0      3.3      3.1

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  3,705    4,027    3,847           3.4      3.7      3.5
  Mining and Logging............................     24       27       29           3.2      3.3      3.5
  Construction..................................    322      339      301           5.6      5.9      5.2
  Manufacturing.................................    266      244      224           2.3      2.1      1.9
   Durable goods................................    143      131      123           2.0      1.8      1.7
   Nondurable goods.............................    123      112      100           2.7      2.5      2.2
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    865      838      918           3.5      3.4      3.7
   Wholesale trade..............................    101      123      132           1.8      2.2      2.4
   Retail trade.................................    634      587      635           4.4      4.1      4.3
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    130      129      151           2.7      2.7      3.1
  Information...................................     55       58       56           2.0      2.2      2.1
  Financial activities..........................    167      136      156           2.2      1.8      2.1
   Finance and insurance........................    124       86       85           2.2      1.5      1.5
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     43       51       71           2.2      2.6      3.6
  Professional and business services............    762      852      849           4.5      4.9      4.9
  Education and health services.................    490      595      479           2.5      3.0      2.4
   Educational services.........................     85      161       72           2.6      5.1      2.1
   Health care and social assistance............    405      434      407           2.4      2.6      2.4
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    559      717      601           4.3      5.3      4.5
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     67      125       90           3.6      6.3      4.8
   Accommodation and food services.............     492      592      511           4.4      5.2      4.5
  Other services................................    196      221      233           3.6      4.1      4.3

 Government.....................................    279      369      244           1.2      1.7      1.1
  Federal.......................................     35       28       26           1.2      1.0       .9
  State and local...............................    243      342      218           1.2      1.8      1.1

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    701      723      659           2.8      2.9      2.6
  South.........................................  1,502    1,614    1,611           3.2      3.4      3.4
  Midwest.......................................    932    1,024      934           3.1      3.4      3.1
  West..........................................    850    1,036      888           2.9      3.6      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 7, 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                  Oct.     Sept.    Oct.          Oct.     Sept.    Oct.
                                                   2010     2011     2011p         2010     2011     2011p

Total...........................................  3,832    4,327    4,005           2.9      3.3      3.0

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  3,609    3,971    3,771           3.3      3.6      3.4
  Mining and Logging............................     16       25       26           2.1      3.1      3.1
  Construction..................................    348      337      325           6.1      5.8      5.6
  Manufacturing.................................    304      237      230           2.6      2.0      1.9
   Durable goods................................    158      131      122           2.2      1.8      1.7
   Nondurable goods.............................    146      106      108           3.3      2.4      2.4
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    735      803      777           3.0      3.2      3.1
   Wholesale trade..............................     91      123      129           1.7      2.2      2.3
   Retail trade.................................    520      558      508           3.6      3.9      3.5
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...    124      122      140           2.6      2.5      2.9
  Information...................................     56       61       57           2.1      2.3      2.2
  Financial activities..........................    158      138      164           2.1      1.8      2.2
   Finance and insurance........................    109       83       80           1.9      1.5      1.4
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     48       55       84           2.5      2.8      4.3
  Professional and business services............    723      820      812           4.3      4.7      4.6
  Education and health services.................    366      427      400           1.8      2.1      2.0
   Educational services.........................     40       70       40           1.2      2.2      1.2
   Health care and social assistance............    326      357      360           2.0      2.1      2.1
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    736      901      742           5.6      6.7      5.6
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........    151      253      132           8.1     12.8      7.1
   Accommodation and food services.............     585      648      610           5.2      5.6      5.4
  Other services................................    166      223      238           3.1      4.1      4.4

 Government.....................................    223      356      234           1.0      1.6      1.0
  Federal.......................................     47       41       35           1.6      1.5      1.2
  State and local...............................    177      315      199            .9      1.7      1.0

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    710      785      681           2.8      3.1      2.7
  South.........................................  1,351    1,552    1,508           2.8      3.3      3.1
  Midwest.......................................    887      974      911           3.0      3.3      3.0
  West..........................................    885    1,016      905           3.1      3.5      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 See footnote 7, 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                  Oct.     Sept.    Oct.          Oct.     Sept.    Oct.
                                                   2010     2011     2011p         2010     2011     2011p

Total...........................................  1,821    2,185    1,964           1.4      1.7      1.5

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  1,738    2,056    1,868           1.6      1.9      1.7
  Mining and Logging............................      8       17       16           1.1      2.0      2.0
  Construction..................................     86       96       86           1.5      1.7      1.5
  Manufacturing.................................    107      104      110            .9       .9       .9
   Durable goods................................     46       51       54            .6       .7       .7
   Nondurable goods.............................     61       53       56           1.4      1.2      1.3
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    384      479      440           1.6      1.9      1.8
   Wholesale trade..............................     35       64       74            .6      1.2      1.3
   Retail trade.................................    299      357      307           2.1      2.5      2.1
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     51       58       59           1.1      1.2      1.2
  Information...................................     33       38       32           1.2      1.4      1.2
  Financial activities..........................     62       72       84            .8      1.0      1.1
   Finance and insurance........................     44       47       53            .8       .8       .9
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     17       25       31            .9      1.3      1.6
  Professional and business services............    374      391      363           2.2      2.3      2.1
  Education and health services.................    229      273      231           1.2      1.4      1.1
   Educational services.........................     24       38       22            .7      1.2       .6
   Health care and social assistance............    205      235      209           1.2      1.4      1.2
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    380      489      407           2.9      3.6      3.1
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........     45       70       45           2.4      3.5      2.4
   Accommodation and food services.............     335      419      362           3.0      3.6      3.2
  Other services................................     75       97      100           1.4      1.8      1.8

 Government.....................................     83      129       95            .4       .6       .4
  Federal.......................................      8       11       10            .3       .4       .4
  State and local...............................     75      118       85            .4       .6       .4

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    276      332      279           1.1      1.3      1.1
  South.........................................    705      898      768           1.5      1.9      1.6
  Midwest.......................................    453      476      464           1.5      1.6      1.5
  West..........................................    387      479      452           1.3      1.7      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 See footnote 7, 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                  Oct.     Sept.    Oct.          Oct.     Sept.    Oct.
                                                   2010     2011     2011p         2010     2011     2011p

Total...........................................  1,762    1,837    1,686           1.3      1.4      1.3

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................  1,663    1,663    1,588           1.5      1.5      1.4
  Mining and Logging............................      6        7        6            .8       .9       .7
  Construction..................................    256      224      213           4.4      3.9      3.7
  Manufacturing.................................    174      113       91           1.5      1.0       .8
   Durable goods................................     95       65       54           1.3       .9       .7
   Nondurable goods.............................     79       48       36           1.8      1.1       .8
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........    298      257      248           1.2      1.0      1.0
   Wholesale trade..............................     48       50       40            .9       .9       .7
   Retail trade.................................    186      164      146           1.3      1.1      1.0
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     63       44       62           1.3       .9      1.3
  Information...................................     19       19       22            .7       .7       .8
  Financial activities..........................     84       45       57           1.1       .6       .7
   Finance and insurance........................     54       25       17           1.0       .4       .3
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........     30       20       40           1.5      1.0      2.0
  Professional and business services............    312      371      383           1.8      2.1      2.2
  Education and health services.................    108      127      130            .5       .6       .6
   Educational services.........................     13       28       15            .4       .9       .4
   Health care and social assistance............     95       99      115            .6       .6       .7
  Leisure and hospitality.......................    326      384      315           2.5      2.9      2.4
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........    103      180       86           5.5      9.1      4.6
   Accommodation and food services.............     223      204      228           2.0      1.8      2.0
  Other services................................     80      115      124           1.5      2.1      2.3

 Government.....................................     99      173       98            .4       .8       .4
  Federal.......................................     31       21       16           1.1       .7       .6
  State and local...............................     68      152       82            .3       .8       .4

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................    395      397      309           1.6      1.6      1.2
  South.........................................    545      563      627           1.1      1.2      1.3
  Midwest.......................................    370      414      369           1.2      1.4      1.2
  West..........................................    451      463      382           1.6      1.6      1.3


  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 7, 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                  Oct.     Sept.    Oct.          Oct.     Sept.    Oct.
                                                   2010     2011     2011p         2010     2011     2011p

Total...........................................    249      305      356           0.2      0.2      0.3

                   INDUSTRY

 Total private..................................    208      251      315            .2       .2       .3
  Mining and Logging............................      2        1        3            .2       .2       .4
  Construction..................................      7       17       25            .1       .3       .4
  Manufacturing.................................     24       20       30            .2       .2       .3
   Durable goods................................     17       15       14            .2       .2       .2
   Nondurable goods.............................      7        5       16            .1       .1       .3
  Trade, transportation, and utilities..........     54       66       90            .2       .3       .4
   Wholesale trade..............................      8        9       15            .1       .2       .3
   Retail trade.................................     36       37       55            .2       .3       .4
   Transportation, warehousing, and utilities...     10       20       19            .2       .4       .4
  Information...................................      4        4        3            .1       .1       .1
  Financial activities..........................     12       21       24            .2       .3       .3
   Finance and insurance........................     11       11       11            .2       .2       .2
   Real estate and rental and leasing...........      2        9       13            .1       .5       .7
  Professional and business services............     37       58       66            .2       .3       .4
  Education and health services.................     29       27       40            .1       .1       .2
   Educational services.........................      3        4        3            .1       .1       .1
   Health care and social assistance............     26       23       37            .2       .1       .2
  Leisure and hospitality.......................     29       28       21            .2       .2       .2
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........      3        2        2            .2       .1       .1
   Accommodation and food services.............      27       25       19            .2       .2       .2
  Other services................................     11       10       13            .2       .2       .2

 Government.....................................     41       54       41            .2       .2       .2
  Federal.......................................      8        9        9            .3       .3       .3
  State and local...............................     33       45       32            .2       .2       .2

                    REGION (3)

  Northeast.....................................     39       56       93            .2       .2       .4
  South.........................................    100       92      113            .2       .2       .2
  Midwest.......................................     63       84       78            .2       .3       .3
  West..........................................     48       73       71            .2       .3       .2


  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 7, table 1.
  p = Preliminary


Last Modified Date: December 13, 2011