For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, September 9, 2020 USDL-20-1691 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 – JULY 2020 The number of job openings increased to 6.6 million on the last business day of July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires decreased to 5.8 million in July. Total separations was little changed at 5.0 million. Within separations, the quits rate rose to 2.1 percent while the layoffs and discharges rate decreased to 1.2 percent. These changes in the labor market reflected an ongoing resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. 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 July, the number and rate of job openings increased to 6.6 million (+617,000) and 4.5 percent, respectively. Job openings rose in a number of industries, with the largest increases in retail trade (+172,000), health care and social assistance (+146,000), and construction (+90,000). The number of job openings increased in the South and Midwest regions. (See table 1.) _________________________________________________________________________________________________ | Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on July 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-july-2020.htm. | |_______________________________________________________________________________________________| Hires In July, the number and rate of hires decreased to 5.8 million (-1,183,000) and 4.1 percent, respectively. Over the year, the hires level was little changed. Hires decreased in a number of industries, with the largest fall in accommodation and food services (-599,000), followed by other services (-143,000), and health care and social assistance (-137,000). Hires increased in federal government (+33,000), largely because of Census hiring. Hires also increased in real estate and rental and leasing (+26,000). The number of hires decreased in all four regions. (See table 2.) Separations Total separations includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Total separations is referred to as turnover. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations includes separations due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm. In July, the number and rate of total separations was little changed at 5.0 million and 3.6 percent, respectively. Total separations increased in retail trade (+112,000) and in state and local government education (+49,000). The number of total separations decreased in durable goods manufacturing (-44,000). Total separations was little changed in all four regions. (See table 3.) In July, the number and rate of quits increased to 2.9 million (+344,000) and 2.1 percent, respectively. Quits increased in retail trade (+152,000), professional and business services (+98,000), and state and local government education (+35,000). The number of quits increased in the Midwest and West regions. (See table 4.) The number and rate of layoffs and discharges decreased to 1.7 million (-274,000) and 1.2 percent, respectively in July. The layoffs and discharges level decreased in durable goods manufacturing (-40,000), transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-40,000), and wholesale trade (-21,000). The number of layoffs and discharges decreased in the Northeast and South regions. (See table 5.) The number of other separations was little changed in July at 337,000. Other separations increased in a few industries, with the largest increases in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+35,000) and state and local government education (+16,000). Other separations decreased in health care and social assistance (-22,000). Other separations was little changed in all four regions. (See table 6.) Net Change in Employment Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout the business cycle. Net employment change results from the relationship between hires and separations. When the number of hires exceeds the number of separations, employment rises, even if the hires level is steady or declining. Conversely, when the number of hires is less than the number of separations, employment declines, even if the hires level is steady or rising. Over the 12 months ending in July, hires totaled 70.2 million and separations totaled 78.5 million, yielding a net employment loss of 8.2 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 August 2020 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. (ET). ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | Upcoming Changes to JOLTS Series Codes | | | |JOLTS will be changing the structure of its series codes to allow for the publication of establishment | |size class data and the future publication of state data and potential publication of Metropolitan | |Statistical Area (MSA) data. These changes will occur with the release of JOLTS data on October 6, 2020. | |For more information on these changes, please visit www.bls.gov/jlt/jlt_series_changes.htm. | |__________________________________________________________________________________________________________| ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on July 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 July was 46 percent, | |while response rates prior to the pandemic averaged 54 percent. | | | |BLS modified the JOLTS estimation methods starting in March and continuing through July to better reflect | |the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The estimation process usually includes an alignment of| |monthly hires minus separations to the over-the-month change in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) | |employment estimates. For July estimates, as in earlier months, BLS suspended the alignment process | |because the differing reference periods for the CES employment estimates (pay period including the 12th of| |the month) and the JOLTS hires and separations estimates (the entire reference month) led to substantially| |different measurement outcomes. 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-july-2020.htm. | |__________________________________________________________________________________________________________|