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Job Openings and Labor Turnover – June 2024
The number of job openings was unchanged at 8.2 million as of the last business day in June. Over the month, the number of hires and total separations were little changed at 5.3 million and 5.1 million.
Job Openings:
As of the last business day in June, the number of job openings was unchanged at 8.2 million, a decrease of 941,000 over the year. The job opening rate remains at 4.9%. job openings increased in accommodation and food services (+120,000) and in state and local government, excluding education (+94,000). The number o job openings decreased in durable goods manufacturing (-88,000) and in federal government (-62,000).
Hires:
The number of hires was little changed at 5.3 million in June, a decrease of 554,000 over the year. The hires rate, 3.4%, changed little in June.
Separations:
Total separations include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Quits are generally voluntary separation initiated by the employee, serving as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separation initiated by the employer. Other separations include separations due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm.
The number of total separations changed very little in June at 5.1 million, a decrease of 544,000 over the year. Total separations decreased in state and local government education (-51,000) and in arts, entertainment, and recreation (-39,000).
The number of quits was little changed at 3.3 million, a decrease 434,000 over the year. Quits decreased in construction (-64,000) and in state and local government education (-55,000).
In June, the number of layoffs and discharges changed little at 1.5 million. Layoffs and discharges decreased in finance and insurance (-26,000).
The number of other separations was little changed in June at 314,000.
State Employment and Unemployment – June 2024
In June, the unemployment rates were higher in 8 states, lower in 1 state, and stable in 41 states and the District of Columbia. Thirty-one states and the D.C. area had jobless rate increases from a year earlier, 2 states had decreases, and 17 states had little change. The national unemployment rate changed little at 4.1%, a 0.5 percentage point higher than in June 2023.
South Dakota saw the lowest jobless rate in June at 2%, followed closely by North Dakota and Vermont at 2.1% each. Arizona, at 3.3%, set a new series low. The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate, at 5.4%, followed by California and Nevada, at 5.2% each. In total, 26 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. average, 4 states and the D.C. area had higher rates, and 20 states had rates that were not notably different from that of the nation.
In June, 8 states saw unemployment rate increases: Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, and South Carolina (+0.2 percentage point each) and Georgia, Minnesota, and Utah (+0.1 point each). Connecticut had the only rate decrease (-0.4 percentage point). Forty-one states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a month earlier.
Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate increases from June 2023, the largest of which was in Rhode Island (+1.7 percentage points). Two states had over-the-year rate decreases: Arizona (-0.5 percentage point) and Mississippi (-0.3 point). Seventeen states had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a year earlier.
The Employment Situation – June 2024
In June, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 206,000; and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1%. Job gains occurred in government, health care, social assistance, and construction.
Household Data:
Both the unemployment rate, at 4.1%, and the number of unemployed people, at 6.8 million, changed very little in June. These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.6%, and the number of unemployed people was 6.0 million.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) rose by 166,000 to 1.5 million in June. This measure is up from 1.1 million a year earlier. The long-term unemployed accounted for 22.2% of all unemployed people in June.
The labor force participation rate changed little at 62.6% in June, showing little change over the year.
The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.2 million, changed little in June. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job declined by 483,000 to 5.2 million in June. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.
Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force, at 1.5 million, saw little change in June. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, decreased to 365,000 in June.
Establishment Data:
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 206,000 in June, on par to the average monthly gain of 220,000 over the prior 12 months. In June, job gains occurred in government, health care, social assistance, and construction.
Government employment rose by 70,000 in June, higher than the average monthly gain of 49,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, employment increased in local government, excluding education (+34,000) and in state government (+26,000).
Healthcare added 49,000 jobs in June, lower than the average monthly gain of 64,000 over the prior 12 months. In June, employment rose in ambulatory health care services (+22,000) and hospitals (+22,000).
Employment in social assistance increased by 34,000 in June, primarily in individual and family services (+26,000). Over the prior 12 months, social assistance had added an average of 22,000 jobs per month.
Construction added 27,000 jobs in June, higher than the average monthly gain of 20,000 over the prior 12 months.
Retail trade employment changed little in June (-9,000). Furniture, home furnishings, electronics, and appliance retailers lost 6,000 jobs over the month, while warehouse clubs, supercenters, and other general merchandise retailers gained 5,000 jobs.
Employment in professional and business services changed little in June (-17,000) and has shown little change over the year. Temporary help services employment declined by 49,000 over the month and is down by 515,000 since reaching a peak in March 2022. Employment in professional, scientific, and technical services continued to trend up in June (+24,000).
Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; leisure and hospitality; and other services.