JOLTS Benchmark Article

Incorporation of March 2020 Benchmarks into Estimates for the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

• Overview of the revisions
• Benchmarking & Associated Annual Processing Overview
• Benchmarking Process
• Associated Annual Processing Adjustments
• Pandemic-related Alignment Process Modifications
• 2020 Decennial Census
• Seasonal Adjustment
• Availability of revised estimates
• Table of figures
  • Tables

Authored by Katherine Bauer

Katherine Bauer is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual revisions to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates on March 11, 2021. This release includes revisions to national and regional estimates of job openings, hires, and separations for a 5-year period. The revised estimates incorporate benchmarks based on Current Employment Statistics (CES) benchmarked employment estimates and revised seasonal adjustment factors, as well as special adjustments for 2020 to incorporate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the decennial census.

Overview of the revisions

• For job openings, the March 2020 benchmarked seasonally adjusted level is 5,769,000. This is a revision of -242,000 or -4.2 percent. The not seasonally adjusted benchmarked level for job openings is 5,734,000. This is a revision of -123,000 or -2.1 percent.
• For hires, the March 2020 benchmarked seasonally adjusted level is 5,132,000. This is a revision of 21,000 or 0.4 percent. The not seasonally adjusted benchmarked level for hires is 4,728,000. This is a revision of 72,000 or 1.5 percent.
• For total separations, the March 2020 benchmarked seasonally adjusted level is 16,308,000. This is a revision of 1,665,000 or 10.2 percent. The not seasonally adjusted benchmarked level for separations is 15,654,000. This is a revision of 1,655,000 or 10.6 percent.
• For quits, the March 2020 benchmarked seasonally adjusted level is 2,902,000. This is a revision of 113,000 or 3.9 percent. The not seasonally adjusted benchmarked level for quits is 2,612,000. This is a revision of 159,000 or 6.1 percent.
• For layoffs and discharges, the March 2020 benchmarked seasonally adjusted level is 13,046,000. This is a revision of 1,557,000 or 11.9 percent. The not seasonally adjusted benchmarked level for layoffs and discharges is 12,704,000. This is a revision of 1,497,000 or 11.8 percent.
• For other separations, the March 2020 benchmarked seasonally adjusted level is 360,000. This is a revision of -6,000 or -1.7 percent. The not seasonally adjusted benchmarked level for other separations is 338,000. This is a revision of -2,000 or -0.6 percent.

Table 1:  Percent and level differences (in thousands) between March 2020 benchmarks and estimates by data element for total nonfarm

Data element	Seasonally adjusted				Not seasonally adjusted
	As revised	As previously published	Level difference	Percent difference	As revised	As previously published	Level difference	Percent difference
Job openings	5,769	6,011	-242	-4.2	5,734	5,857	-123	-2.1
Hires	5,132	5,111	21	0.4	4,728	4,656	72	1.5
Total separations	16,308	14,643	1,665	10.2	15,654	13,999	1,655	10.6
Quits	2,902	2,789	113	3.9	2,612	2,453	159	6.1
Layoffs and discharges	13,046	11,489	1,557	11.9	12,704	11,207	1,497	11.8
Other separations	360	366	-6	-1.7	338	340	-2	-0.6

Benchmarking & Associated Annual Processing Overview

Benchmarking Process

The JOLTS estimates are revised annually to reflect annual updates to the CES employment estimates.ⁱ  Once the CES benchmarked employment estimates are available, the JOLTS employment levels (not published) are ratio-adjusted to the CES employment levels. The resulting ratios are applied to all JOLTS data elements. This annual benchmark process results in revisions to both the not seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted estimates for the period since the last benchmark was established. For 2020, additional processes were implemented to incorporate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the decennial census.

Associated Annual Processing Adjustments

Pandemic-related Alignment Process Modifications

BLS modified the JOLTS estimation processes for the March 2020 preliminary through the November 2020 preliminary estimates to better reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The estimation process usually aligns monthly hires minus separations with the over-the-month change in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates. However, the alignment process was suspended during this time frame 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 different measurement outcomes. For example, hires and separations during the latter half of March 2020 were not included in the CES employment change for March, but were included in the JOLTS estimates for the month.

The alignment portion of the JOLTS estimation process was designed to correct a long-term divergence between the JOLTS hires minus separations and the CES employment change; it was not designed to address a substantial short-term divergence between the two series. While JOLTS hires minus separations and CES employment change generally approximate one another, small monthly discrepancies between the two series can build up over time. For the December 2020 preliminary and the November 2020 final JOLTS estimates, suppression of the alignment process was discontinued. The differences between the JOLTS hires minus separations and CES employment changes were no longer significantly different.

An additional alignment procedure was needed for the months most greatly affected by the pandemic to reconcile the CES employment change and the JOLTS hires minus separations difference. An adjustment was made for the months from March 2020 through October 2020 that accounted for this divergence while simultaneously preserving the impact of the pandemic on the JOLTS hires and separations. The CES employment changes were distributed across the affected months by apportioning the difference between the JOLTS hires and separations levels. This approach allowed the JOLTS estimates to capture the month-to-month changes due to the pandemic while also reflecting the impacts on the CES employment estimates.

2020 Decennial Census

The U.S. Census Bureau conducts a constitutionally mandated census to count the number of people in the United States every 10 years. The most recent decennial census was conducted in 2020. The JOLTS program uses CES Census employment data to estimate levels of job openings, hires, and separations based on estimated churn. These levels are then added to the federal government estimates for job openings, hires, and separations.

Seasonal Adjustment

Seasonally adjusted estimates are recalculated for the most recent 5 years for each of the JOLTS data elements in order to reflect annually updated seasonal adjustment factors. The JOLTS alignment process aligns the JOLTS seasonally adjusted estimates to the CES seasonally adjusted trend. After these estimates are aligned, the process removes the seasonal factors to obtain the not seasonally adjusted series. The seasonal adjustment process is repeated using the aligned not-seasonally-adjusted estimates. Because of this process, the series that are not seasonally adjusted are also recalculated for the most recent 5 years.ⁱⁱ 

Availability of revised estimates

The BLS public database contains all historical JOLTS estimates that have been revised as a result of the benchmark process. The estimates can be accessed on the JOLTS database page.

Tables

Table 2a. Revisions in job openings data January 2020 - December 2020, seasonally adjusted

2020	Levels (in thousands)			Rates (percent)
	As revised	As previously published	Difference	As revised	As previously published	Difference
January	7,154	7,012	142	4.5	4.4	0.1
February	7,012	7,004	8	4.4	4.4	.0
March	5,769	6,011	-242	3.7	3.8	-.1
April	4,630	4,996	-366	3.4	3.7	-.3
May	5,447	5,371	76	3.9	3.9	.0
June	6,112	6,001	111	4.2	4.2	.0
July	6,717	6,697	20	4.6	4.6	.0
August	6,451	6,352	99	4.4	4.3	.1
September	6,611	6,494	117	4.5	4.4	.1
October	6,873	6,632	241	4.6	4.5	.1
November	6,766	6,572	194	4.5	4.4	.1
December	6,752	6,646	106	4.5	4.5	.0

Table 2b. Revisions in hires data January 2020 - December 2020, seasonally adjusted

2020	Levels (in thousands)			Rates (percent)
	As revised	As previously published	Difference	As revised	As previously published	Difference
January	5,974	5,921	53	3.9	3.9	0.0
February	5,979	5,864	115	3.9	3.8	.1
March	5,132	5,111	21	3.4	3.4	.0
April	3,942	4,047	-105	3.0	3.1	-.1
May	8,272	7,199	1,073	6.2	5.4	.8
June	7,697	6,970	727	5.6	5.1	.5
July	6,237	5,903	334	4.5	4.2	.3
August	6,431	5,952	479	4.6	4.2	.4
September	5,932	5,886	46	4.2	4.2	.0
October	6,035	5,912	123	4.2	4.2	.0
November	6,019	5,935	84	4.2	4.2	.0
December	5,411	5,539	-128	3.8	3.9	-.1

Table 2c. Revisions in total separations data January 2020 - December 2020, seasonally adjusted

2020	Levels (in thousands)			Rates (percent)
	As revised	As previously published	Difference	As revised	As previously published	Difference
January	5,714	5,713	1	3.8	3.8	0.0
February	5,715	5,595	120	3.7	3.7	.0
March	16,308	14,643	1,665	10.8	9.7	1.1
April	11,782	9,975	1,807	9.1	7.6	1.5
May	4,618	4,236	382	3.5	3.2	.3
June	5,180	4,899	281	3.8	3.6	.2
July	5,392	4,988	404	3.9	3.6	.3
August	4,901	4,689	212	3.5	3.3	.2
September	5,235	4,844	391	3.7	3.4	.3
October	5,427	5,142	285	3.8	3.6	.2
November	5,744	5,523	221	4.0	3.9	.1
December	5,582	5,460	122	3.9	3.8	.1

Table 2d. Revisions in quits data January 2020 - December 2020, seasonally adjusted

2020	Levels (in thousands)			Rates (percent)
	As revised	As previously published	Difference	As revised	As previously published	Difference
January	3,568	3,575	-7	2.3	2.3	0.0
February	3,430	3,436	-6	2.2	2.3	-.1
March	2,902	2,789	113	1.9	1.8	.1
April	2,107	1,877	230	1.6	1.4	.2
May	2,206	2,067	139	1.7	1.6	.1
June	2,646	2,605	41	1.9	1.9	.0
July	3,182	2,932	250	2.3	2.1	.2
August	2,987	2,839	148	2.1	2.0	.1
September	3,307	3,074	233	2.3	2.2	.1
October	3,352	3,150	202	2.4	2.2	.2
November	3,296	3,180	116	2.3	2.2	.1
December	3,407	3,286	121	2.4	2.3	.1

Table 2e. Revisions in layoffs and discharges data January 2020 - December 2020, seasonally adjusted

2020	Levels (in thousands)			Rates (percent)
	As revised	As previously published	Difference	As revised	As previously published	Difference
January	1,788	1,749	39	1.2	1.1	0.1
February	1,953	1,846	107	1.3	1.2	.1
March	13,046	11,489	1,557	8.6	7.6	1.0
April	9,307	7,708	1,599	7.2	5.9	1.3
May	2,096	1,903	193	1.6	1.4	.2
June	2,204	1,995	209	1.6	1.4	.2
July	1,845	1,745	100	1.3	1.3	.0
August	1,573	1,533	40	1.1	1.1	.0
September	1,555	1,437	118	1.1	1.0	.1
October	1,728	1,676	52	1.2	1.2	.0
November	2,123	2,055	68	1.5	1.4	.1
December	1,823	1,812	11	1.3	1.3	.0

Table 2f. Revisions in other separations data January 2020 - December 2020, seasonally adjusted

2020	Levels (in thousands)			Rates (percent)
	As revised	As previously published	Difference	As revised	As previously published	Difference
January	358	389	-31	0.2	0.3	-0.1
February	332	313	19	0.2	0.2	.0
March	360	366	-6	0.2	0.2	.0
April	368	390	-22	0.3	0.3	.0
May	316	266	50	0.2	0.2	.0
June	331	300	31	0.2	0.2	.0
July	365	311	54	0.3	0.2	.1
August	342	317	25	0.2	0.2	.0
September	373	333	40	0.3	0.2	.1
October	347	317	30	0.2	0.2	.0
November	325	288	37	0.2	0.2	.0
December	352	362	-10	0.2	0.3	-.1

Tables 3a: Revisions to job openings by industry, March 2020, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Industry	As revised	As previously published	Differences
			Amount	Percent
Total nonfarm	5,769	6,011	-242	-4.2
Total private	5,061	5,284	-223	-4.4
Mining and logging	16	12	4	25.0
Construction	228	240	-12	-5.3
Manufacturing	302	310	-8	-2.6
Durable goods	170	178	-8	-4.7
Nondurable goods	132	132	0	0.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,050	1,069	-19	-1.8
Wholesale trade	150	156	-6	-4.0
Retail trade	571	626	-55	-9.6
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	330	286	44	13.3
Information	122	119	3	2.5
Financial activities	352	336	16	4.5
Finance and insurance	261	262	-1	-0.4
Real estate and rental and leasing	91	75	16	17.6
Professional and business services	1,042	1,192	-150	-14.4
Education and health services	1,143	1,193	-50	-4.4
Educational services	101	106	-5	-5.0
Health care and social assistance	1,041	1,087	-46	-4.4
Leisure and hospitality	648	664	-16	-2.5
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	129	130	-1	-0.8
Accommodation and food services	519	534	-15	-2.9
Other services	158	147	11	7.0
Government	708	727	-19	-2.7
Federal	123	131	-8	-6.5
State and local	585	596	-11	-1.9
State and local education	209	215	-6	-2.9
State and local, excluding education	377	381	-4	-1.1
Region
Midwest	1,205	1,286	-81	-6.7
Northeast	1,006	1,102	-96	-9.5
South	2,189	2,251	-62	-2.8
West	1,370	1,373	-3	-0.2

Tables 3b: Revisions to hires by industry, March 2020, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Industry	As revised	As previously published	Differences
			Amount	Percent
Total nonfarm	5,132	5,111	21	0.4
Total private	4,751	4,744	7	0.1
Mining and logging	23	19	4	17.4
Construction	403	389	14	3.5
Manufacturing	313	299	14	4.5
Durable goods	176	159	17	9.7
Nondurable goods	136	140	-4	-2.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,116	1,137	-21	-1.9
Wholesale trade	136	136	0	0.0
Retail trade	734	764	-30	-4.1
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	246	237	9	3.7
Information	69	74	-5	-7.2
Financial activities	230	218	12	5.2
Finance and insurance	153	151	2	1.3
Real estate and rental and leasing	76	67	9	11.8
Professional and business services	1,116	1,103	13	1.2
Education and health services	648	663	-15	-2.3
Educational services	93	92	1	1.1
Health care and social assistance	554	571	-17	-3.1
Leisure and hospitality	677	673	4	0.6
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	119	127	-8	-6.7
Accommodation and food services	558	546	12	2.2
Other services	157	168	-11	-7.0
Government	381	367	14	3.7
Federal	58	58	0	0.0
State and local	324	309	15	4.6
State and local education	167	153	14	8.4
State and local, excluding education	156	156	0	0.0
Region
Midwest	1,072	1,097	-25	-2.3
Northeast	839	869	-30	-3.6
South	1,988	1,998	-10	-0.5
West	1,234	1,147	87	7.1

Tables 3c: Revisions to total separations by industry, March 2020, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Industry	As revised	As previously published	Differences
			Amount	Percent
Total nonfarm	16,308	14,643	1,665	10.2
Total private	15,763	14,243	1,520	9.6
Mining and logging	45	42	3	6.7
Construction	784	756	28	3.6
Manufacturing	891	804	87	9.8
Durable goods	532	474	58	10.9
Nondurable goods	358	329	29	8.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	2,771	2,408	363	13.1
Wholesale trade	335	252	83	24.8
Retail trade	1,834	1,654	180	9.8
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	602	502	100	16.6
Information	246	107	139	56.5
Financial activities	383	350	33	8.6
Finance and insurance	179	169	10	5.6
Real estate and rental and leasing	203	181	22	10.8
Professional and business services	1,931	1,714	217	11.2
Education and health services	2,035	1,747	288	14.2
Educational services	371	327	44	11.9
Health care and social assistance	1,663	1,420	243	14.6
Leisure and hospitality	5,713	5,345	368	6.4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	665	599	66	9.9
Accommodation and food services	5,048	4,746	302	6.0
Other services	965	969	-4	-0.4
Government	545	400	145	26.6
Federal	42	39	3	7.1
State and local	503	361	142	28.2
State and local education	294	180	114	38.8
State and local, excluding education	208	181	27	13.0
Region
Midwest	3,809	3,635	174	4.6
Northeast	3,256	2,807	449	13.8
South	5,404	4,978	426	7.9
West	3,839	3,222	617	16.1

Tables 3d: Revisions to quits by industry, March 2020, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Industry	As revised	As previously published	Differences
			Amount	Percent
Total nonfarm	2,902	2,789	113	3.9
Total private	2,677	2,619	58	2.2
Mining and logging	9	9	0	0.0
Construction	135	130	5	3.7
Manufacturing	155	150	5	3.2
Durable goods	83	86	-3	-3.6
Nondurable goods	72	64	8	11.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	618	607	11	1.8
Wholesale trade	95	93	2	2.1
Retail trade	389	386	3	0.8
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	135	129	6	4.4
Information	42	35	7	16.7
Financial activities	109	93	16	14.7
Finance and insurance	75	70	5	6.7
Real estate and rental and leasing	34	23	11	32.4
Professional and business services	583	561	22	3.8
Education and health services	452	426	26	5.8
Educational services	47	50	-3	-6.4
Health care and social assistance	405	376	29	7.2
Leisure and hospitality	515	534	-19	-3.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	45	52	-7	-15.6
Accommodation and food services	470	483	-13	-2.8
Other services	59	74	-15	-25.4
Government	225	170	55	24.4
Federal	20	17	3	15.0
State and local	206	152	54	26.2
State and local education	121	79	42	34.7
State and local, excluding education	84	73	11	13.1
Region
Midwest	661	654	7	1.1
Northeast	409	404	5	1.2
South	1,156	1,098	58	5.0
West	676	633	43	6.4

Tables 3e: Revisions to layoffs and discharges by industry, March 2020, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Industry	As revised	As previously published	Differences
			Amount	Percent
Total nonfarm	13,046	11,489	1,557	11.9
Total private	12,801	11,316	1,485	11.6
Mining and logging	35	32	3	8.6
Construction	631	604	27	4.3
Manufacturing	713	632	81	11.4
Durable goods	436	374	62	14.2
Nondurable goods	277	257	20	7.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	2,088	1,730	358	17.1
Wholesale trade	236	154	82	34.7
Retail trade	1,409	1,226	183	13.0
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	443	350	93	21.0
Information	196	64	132	67.3
Financial activities	247	228	19	7.7
Finance and insurance	83	77	6	7.2
Real estate and rental and leasing	164	151	13	7.9
Professional and business services	1,278	1,086	192	15.0
Education and health services	1,540	1,274	266	17.3
Educational services	320	272	48	15.0
Health care and social assistance	1,220	1,001	219	18.0
Leisure and hospitality	5,178	4,783	395	7.6
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	618	545	73	11.8
Accommodation and food services	4,560	4,238	322	7.1
Other services	895	884	11	1.2
Government	244	173	71	29.1
Federal	11	9	2	18.2
State and local	233	164	69	29.6
State and local education	137	79	58	42.3
State and local, excluding education	96	85	11	11.5
Region
Midwest	3,063	2,898	165	5.4
Northeast	2,794	2,348	446	16.0
South	4,129	3,747	382	9.3
West	3,060	2,496	564	18.4

Tables 3f: Revisions to other separations by industry, March 2020, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Industry	As revised	As previously published	Differences
			Amount	Percent
Total nonfarm	360	366	-6	-1.7
Total private	285	308	-23	-8.1
Mining and logging	1	2	-1	-100.0
Construction	18	22	-4	-22.2
Manufacturing	23	22	1	4.3
Durable goods	14	14	0	0.0
Nondurable goods	9	9	0	0.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	65	71	-6	-9.2
Wholesale trade	4	5	-1	-25.0
Retail trade	36	42	-6	-16.7
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	25	24	1	4.0
Information	8	8	0	0.0
Financial activities	26	30	-4	-15.4
Finance and insurance	21	22	-1	-4.8
Real estate and rental and leasing	5	7	-2	-40.0
Professional and business services	70	67	3	4.3
Education and health services	43	47	-4	-9.3
Educational services	4	4	0	0.0
Health care and social assistance	38	43	-5	-13.2
Leisure and hospitality	20	28	-8	-40.0
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	2	2	0	0.0
Accommodation and food services	18	26	-8	-44.4
Other services	11	11	0	0.0
Government	75	58	17	22.7
Federal	12	12	0	0.0
State and local	64	46	18	28.1
State and local education	36	22	14	38.9
State and local, excluding education	28	24	4	14.3
Region
Midwest	85	83	2	2.4
Northeast	53	56	-3	-5.7
South	119	133	-14	-11.8
West	104	93	11	10.6

Tables 4a: Revisions to job openings by industry, March 2020, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Industry	As revised	As previously published	Differences
			Amount	Percent
Total nonfarm	5,734	5,857	-123	-2.1
Total private	5,019	5,145	-126	-2.5
Mining and logging	15	12	3	20.0
Construction	238	240	-2	-0.8
Manufacturing	302	310	-8	-2.6
Durable goods	169	178	-9	-5.3
Nondurable goods	134	132	2	1.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	980	973	7	0.7
Wholesale trade	145	149	-4	-2.8
Retail trade	496	538	-42	-8.5
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	339	286	53	15.6
Information	117	119	-2	-1.7
Financial activities	334	321	13	3.9
Finance and insurance	247	246	1	0.4
Real estate and rental and leasing	87	75	12	13.8
Professional and business services	1,053	1,160	-107	-10.2
Education and health services	1,125	1,178	-53	-4.7
Educational services	96	106	-10	-10.4
Health care and social assistance	1,029	1,072	-43	-4.2
Leisure and hospitality	684	675	9	1.3
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	142	142	0	0.0
Accommodation and food services	542	533	9	1.7
Other services	172	156	16	9.3
Government	714	712	2	0.3
Federal	132	131	1	0.8
State and local	583	581	2	0.3
State and local education	200	199	1	0.5
State and local, excluding education	383	381	2	0.5
Region
Midwest	1,218	1,271	-53	-4.4
Northeast	1,001	1,065	-64	-6.4
South	2,175	2,203	-28	-1.3
West	1,340	1,317	23	1.7

Tables 4b: Revisions to hires by industry, March 2020, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Industry	As revised	As previously published	Differences
			Amount	Percent
Total nonfarm	4,728	4,656	72	1.5
Total private	4,433	4,386	47	1.1
Mining and logging	24	19	5	20.8
Construction	384	362	22	5.7
Manufacturing	292	279	13	4.5
Durable goods	167	149	18	10.8
Nondurable goods	126	131	-5	-4.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,032	1,054	-22	-2.1
Wholesale trade	139	136	3	2.2
Retail trade	704	738	-34	-4.8
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	190	180	10	5.3
Information	61	63	-2	-3.3
Financial activities	213	200	13	6.1
Finance and insurance	144	140	4	2.8
Real estate and rental and leasing	69	60	9	13.0
Professional and business services	1,054	1,038	16	1.5
Education and health services	589	592	-3	-0.5
Educational services	55	58	-3	-5.5
Health care and social assistance	534	535	-1	-0.2
Leisure and hospitality	660	653	7	1.1
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	120	123	-3	-2.5
Accommodation and food services	540	530	10	1.9
Other services	125	127	-2	-1.6
Government	295	269	26	8.8
Federal	57	58	-1	-1.8
State and local	238	212	26	10.9
State and local education	105	79	26	24.8
State and local, excluding education	133	132	1	0.8
Region
Midwest	1,019	1,001	18	1.8
Northeast	749	758	-9	-1.2
South	1,854	1,869	-15	-0.8
West	1,106	1,028	78	7.1

Tables 4c: Revisions to total separations by industry, March 2020, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Industry	As revised	As previously published	Differences
			Amount	Percent
Total nonfarm	15,654	13,999	1,655	10.6
Total private	15,209	13,710	1,499	9.9
Mining and logging	45	41	4	8.9
Construction	733	739	-6	-0.8
Manufacturing	880	806	74	8.4
Durable goods	525	487	38	7.2
Nondurable goods	355	319	36	10.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	2,639	2,281	358	13.6
Wholesale trade	328	252	76	23.2
Retail trade	1,742	1,559	183	10.5
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	569	470	99	17.4
Information	238	96	142	59.7
Financial activities	363	333	30	8.3
Finance and insurance	170	157	13	7.6
Real estate and rental and leasing	192	176	16	8.3
Professional and business services	1,857	1,629	228	12.3
Education and health services	1,988	1,692	296	14.9
Educational services	337	287	50	14.8
Health care and social assistance	1,651	1,405	246	14.9
Leisure and hospitality	5,532	5,155	377	6.8
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	614	547	67	10.9
Accommodation and food services	4,918	4,608	310	6.3
Other services	935	937	-2	-0.2
Government	445	289	156	35.1
Federal	40	35	5	12.5
State and local	405	254	151	37.3
State and local education	222	106	116	52.3
State and local, excluding education	184	149	35	19.0
Region
Midwest	3,657	3,482	175	4.8
Northeast	3,108	2,654	454	14.6
South	5,200	4,778	422	8.1
West	3,689	3,086	603	16.3

Tables 4d: Revisions to quits by industry, March 2020, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Industry	As revised	As previously published	Differences
			Amount	Percent
Total nonfarm	2,612	2,453	159	6.1
Total private	2,423	2,327	96	4.0
Mining and logging	7	7	0	0.0
Construction	106	106	0	0.0
Manufacturing	153	140	13	8.5
Durable goods	81	79	2	2.5
Nondurable goods	72	60	12	16.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	574	561	13	2.3
Wholesale trade	95	93	2	2.1
Retail trade	349	345	4	1.1
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	129	123	6	4.7
Information	36	28	8	22.2
Financial activities	95	81	14	14.7
Finance and insurance	67	58	9	13.4
Real estate and rental and leasing	28	23	5	17.9
Professional and business services	547	519	28	5.1
Education and health services	427	395	32	7.5
Educational services	31	31	0	0.0
Health care and social assistance	395	364	31	7.8
Leisure and hospitality	424	429	-5	-1.2
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	34	35	-1	-2.9
Accommodation and food services	390	394	-4	-1.0
Other services	54	61	-7	-13.0
Government	189	126	63	33.3
Federal	19	16	3	15.8
State and local	170	110	60	35.3
State and local education	88	43	45	51.1
State and local, excluding education	82	67	15	18.3
Region
Midwest	601	576	25	4.2
Northeast	348	336	12	3.4
South	1,064	989	75	7.0
West	600	552	48	8.0

Tables 4e: Revisions to layoffs and discharges by industry, March 2020, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Industry	As revised	As previously published	Differences
			Amount	Percent
Total nonfarm	12,704	11,207	1,497	11.8
Total private	12,511	11,086	1,425	11.4
Mining and logging	36	32	4	11.1
Construction	604	611	-7	-1.2
Manufacturing	703	645	58	8.3
Durable goods	431	394	37	8.6
Nondurable goods	272	251	21	7.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	2,008	1,661	347	17.3
Wholesale trade	229	154	75	32.8
Retail trade	1,364	1,184	180	13.2
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	414	323	91	22.0
Information	193	60	133	68.9
Financial activities	240	221	19	7.9
Finance and insurance	82	76	6	7.3
Real estate and rental and leasing	157	145	12	7.6
Professional and business services	1,239	1,040	199	16.1
Education and health services	1,523	1,252	271	17.8
Educational services	304	254	50	16.4
Health care and social assistance	1,220	998	222	18.2
Leisure and hospitality	5,094	4,698	396	7.8
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	579	510	69	11.9
Accommodation and food services	4,515	4,188	327	7.2
Other services	872	865	7	0.8
Government	193	121	72	37.3
Federal	10	8	2	20.0
State and local	183	113	70	38.3
State and local education	108	54	54	50.0
State and local, excluding education	75	60	15	20.0
Region
Midwest	2,977	2,831	146	4.9
Northeast	2,710	2,270	440	16.2
South	4,035	3,666	369	9.1
West	2,982	2,440	542	18.2

Tables 4f: Revisions to other separations by industry, March 2020, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Industry	As revised	As previously published	Differences
			Amount	Percent
Total nonfarm	338	340	-2	-0.6
Total private	276	297	-21	-7.6
Mining and logging	1	2	-1	-100.0
Construction	23	22	1	4.3
Manufacturing	24	22	2	8.3
Durable goods	13	13	0	0.0
Nondurable goods	11	9	2	18.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	58	59	-1	-1.7
Wholesale trade	4	4	0	0.0
Retail trade	28	31	-3	-10.7
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	26	24	2	7.7
Information	8	8	0	0.0
Financial activities	28	31	-3	-10.7
Finance and insurance	21	23	-2	-9.5
Real estate and rental and leasing	7	7	0	0.0
Professional and business services	70	70	0	0.0
Education and health services	38	44	-6	-15.8
Educational services	2	1	1	50.0
Health care and social assistance	36	43	-7	-19.4
Leisure and hospitality	15	28	-13	-86.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	1	2	-1	-100.0
Accommodation and food services	13	26	-13	-100.0
Other services	10	11	-1	-10.0
Government	62	42	20	32.3
Federal	10	11	-1	-10.0
State and local	52	32	20	38.5
State and local education	25	9	16	64.0
State and local, excluding education	27	22	5	18.5
Region
Midwest	80	75	5	6.3
Northeast	45	47	-2	-4.4
South	105	123	-18	-17.1
West	108	94	14	13.0

Table 5:  Percent and level differences (in thousands) between benchmarks and estimates by data element for total nonfarm March 2010 - March 2020, not seasonally adjusted

Data element	Type	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Job openings	Percent	-0.7%	-1.2%	2.1%	-0.9%	0.2%	1.7%	3.2%	-4.5%	4.3%	-1.1%	-2.1%
	Level	- 20	- 37	80	- 33	7	85	186	- 247	294	- 81	- 123
Hires	Percent	-1.2%	0.0%	2.0%	1.6%	-0.4%	0.9%	-0.4%	-0.9%	3.0%	0.0%	1.5%
	Level	-50	1	83	64	-18	44	-20	-46	161	0	72
Total separations	Percent	-2.5%	1.9%	1.6%	0.3%	0.3%	-0.6%	-0.9%	-0.7%	1.8%	0.5%	10.6%
	Level	-81	62	56	12	12	-28	-38	-30	85	26	1,655
Quits	Percent	-4.1%	0.6%	1.4%	-1.7%	-1.6%	-0.6%	-0.7%	0.7%	-3.3%	2.0%	6.1%
	Level	- 65	11	27	- 32	- 36	- 15	- 19	19	- 99	63	159
Layoffs and discharges	Percent	0.1%	3.9%	4.1%	3.2%	3.1%	1.2%	-1.5%	-0.7%	13.5%	-0.7%	11.8%
	Level	1	52	55	44	41	18	-22	-10	197	-10	1,497
Other separations	Percent	-6.0%	-0.7%	-9.2%	0.0%	1.8%	-10.1%	0.6%	-11.8%	-3.8%	-8.9%	-0.6%
	Level	-17	-2	-26	0	6	-32	2	-38	-13	-27	-2

Table of figures

Tables

• Table 1. Percent and level differences (in thousands) between March 2020 benchmarks and estimates by data element for total nonfarm
• Table 2a. Revisions in job openings data January 2020 - December 2020, seasonally adjusted
• Table 2b. Revisions in hires data January 2020 - December 2020, seasonally adjusted
• Table 2c. Revisions in total separations data January 2020 - December 2020, seasonally adjusted
• Table 2d. Revisions in quits data January 2020 - December 2020, seasonally adjusted
• Table 2e. Revisions in layoffs and discharges data January 2020 - December 2020, seasonally adjusted
• Table 2f. Revisions in other separations data January 2020 - December 2020, seasonally adjusted
• Table 3a. Revisions to job openings by industry, March 2020, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
• Table 3b. Revisions to hires by industry, March 2020, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
• Table 3c. Revisions to total separations by industry, March 2020, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
• Table 3d. Revisions to quits by industry, March 2020, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
• Table 3e. Revisions to layoffs and discharges by industry, March 2020, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
• Table 3f. Revisions to other separations by industry, March 2020, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
• Table 4a. Revisions to job openings by industry, March 2020, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
• Table 4b. Revisions to hires by industry, March 2020, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
• Table 4c. Revisions to total separations by industry, March 2020, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
• Table 4d. Revisions to quits by industry, March 2020, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
• Table 4e. Revisions to layoffs and discharges by industry, March 2020, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
• Table 4f. Revisions to other separations by industry, March 2020, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
• Table 5. Percent and level differences (in thousands) between benchmarks and estimates by data element for total nonfarm March 2010 - March 2020, not seasonally adjusted

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• Notes