Number of Job Openings Fell to 5.5 Million in May

Washington, DC, July 12, 2016—The number of job openings decreased to 5.5 million on the last business day of May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported.

Hires and separations were both little changed at 5.0 million.

Within separations, the quits rate was 2.0% and the layoffs and discharges rate was 1.2%. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry and by four geographic regions.

The number of job openings was 5.8 million on the last business day of April.