U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (03/11/14)

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that at the end of January, job openings totaled four million, the hires rate was 3.3%, and the separations rate was 3.2%, all of which were little changed from December. There were 4.5 million hires and 4.5 million separations in January, essentially unchanged from December for total private and government.

The quits rate was 1.7% for total nonfarm, 1.9% for total private, and 0.6% for government, while the layoffs and discharges rate was 1.3% for total nonfarm, 1.4% for total private, and 0.5% for government. During the year-to-year period, there were 54.3 million hires and 52.1 million separations, for a net employment gain of 2.2 million.