The job openings rate declined to 3.6% during August from July's cycle-high of 3.8%. It nevertheless remained up versus 3.4% one year earlier. 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. The hires rate remained stable at 3.6%, up from 3.4% in August 2014. The hires rate is the number of hires during the month divided by employment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports these figures in its Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

The actual number of job openings pulled back m/m to 5.370 million but still was 9.0% higher versus last year. An 8.9% y/y rise in private sector openings was led by a 20.1% y/y gain in professional & business services. That was followed by 12.5% y/y increase in health care & social assistance jobs. Factory sector openings increased 8.8% y/y but leisure & hospitality jobs improved just 1.7% y/y. In the government sector, job openings jumped 10.3% y/y.

The number of hires improved slightly m/m to 5.078 million (6.0% y/y). Private sector hiring increased 5.0% y/y reflecting a 16.8% y/y rise in health care & social assistance as well as a 13.6% increase in leisure & hospitality jobs. Factory sector employment increased 9.5% y/y, but professional & business services employment eased 2.3% y/y. Government hiring rose by roughly one-quarter y/y.

The total job separations rate remained stable m/m at 3.4% as separations increased 6.1% y/y. Factory sector separations increased 16.7% y/y but professional & business services separations fell 1.2% y/y. Leisure & hospitality separations rose 11.7% y/y and they increased 8.3% y/y in retail trade. Separations include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations as well as retirements. The layoff & discharge rate held steady at 1.2% m/m and y/y. The private sector rate of 1.3% compared to 0.5% in the public sector. Layoffs overall rose 1.5% y/y.

The JOLTS survey dates to December 2000 and the figures are available in Haver's USECON database.