BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

22/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 22/08/2024 22:29

Utah Job Openings and Labor Turnover — June 2024

News Release Information

24-1744-KAN
Thursday, August 22, 2024

ContactsTechnical information: Media contact:
  • (816) 285-7000

Utah Job Openings and Labor Turnover - June 2024

Utah had 93,000 job openings in June 2024, compared to 89,000 openings in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the job openings rate in Utah was 5.0 percent in June and 4.8 percent in the previous month. (See chart 1 and table 2.) The job openings rate nationally was 4.9 percent in June, unchanged from May. (See table 3.) All data in this release are seasonally adjusted.

View Chart Data
Chart 1. Job openings as a percent of employment for the United States and Utah, seasonally adjusted
Month Utah United States

Jun 2020

4.2 4.3

Jul 2020

4.0 4.5

Aug 2020

4.2 4.3

Sep 2020

4.1 4.4

Oct 2020

4.2 4.6

Nov 2020

4.6 4.6

Dec 2020

4.7 4.5

Jan 2021

4.5 4.8

Feb 2021

5.1 5.2

Mar 2021

5.0 5.6

Apr 2021

5.3 6.0

May 2021

5.9 6.4

Jun 2021

7.1 6.6

Jul 2021

6.9 7.0

Aug 2021

6.9 6.9

Sep 2021

6.4 6.9

Oct 2021

6.6 7.1

Nov 2021

6.5 7.0

Dec 2021

6.9 7.1

Jan 2022

7.3 7.0

Feb 2022

7.0 7.2

Mar 2022

7.1 7.4

Apr 2022

6.4 7.2

May 2022

6.9 7.0

Jun 2022

6.5 6.9

Jul 2022

6.5 7.0

Aug 2022

6.1 6.2

Sep 2022

6.5 6.6

Oct 2022

6.2 6.4

Nov 2022

6.4 6.5

Dec 2022

7.1 6.7

Jan 2023

6.1 6.3

Feb 2023

5.9 6.0

Mar 2023

5.8 5.8

Apr 2023

6.4 6.0

May 2023

5.7 5.6

Jun 2023

5.7 5.5

Jul 2023

5.6 5.3

Aug 2023

6.8 5.6

Sep 2023

5.8 5.6

Oct 2023

5.3 5.2

Nov 2023

5.1 5.4

Dec 2023

4.9 5.3

Jan 2024

4.9 5.3

Feb 2024

4.9 5.3

Mar 2024

4.9 5.0

Apr 2024

4.6 4.8

May 2024

4.8 4.9

Jun 2024

5.0 4.9

The ratio of unemployed persons per job opening in Utah was 0.6 in June. Nationwide, 36 states and the District of Columbia had ratios in June that were lower than the national measure of 0.8 unemployed persons per job opening; 9 states had ratios that were higher than the national ratio, and 5 states had ratios equal to the national measure. (See map 1.)

Map 1. Number of unemployed persons per job opening by state, June 2024, seasonally adjusted

(U.S. ratio = 0.8)

In June, Utah had 75,000 hires and 71,000 separations, compared to 73,000 hires and 78,000 separations in May. (See chart 2.) Over the 12 months ending in June, hires have averaged 68,000 per month and separations have averaged 72,000 per month. These averages include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.

View Chart Data
Chart 2. Hires and total separations in Utah, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Month Hires Total separations

Jun 2020

67 55

Jul 2020

70 56

Aug 2020

70 58

Sep 2020

68 64

Oct 2020

79 51

Nov 2020

60 58

Dec 2020

62 56

Jan 2021

60 54

Feb 2021

75 70

Mar 2021

64 65

Apr 2021

68 70

May 2021

69 64

Jun 2021

78 66

Jul 2021

76 68

Aug 2021

73 56

Sep 2021

64 77

Oct 2021

72 67

Nov 2021

85 75

Dec 2021

73 70

Jan 2022

83 74

Feb 2022

85 65

Mar 2022

85 76

Apr 2022

83 63

May 2022

70 68

Jun 2022

71 65

Jul 2022

67 67

Aug 2022

82 72

Sep 2022

78 73

Oct 2022

73 72

Nov 2022

71 73

Dec 2022

73 81

Jan 2023

75 68

Feb 2023

71 62

Mar 2023

69 65

Apr 2023

68 67

May 2023

71 71

Jun 2023

65 63

Jul 2023

70 77

Aug 2023

61 76

Sep 2023

71 64

Oct 2023

71 62

Nov 2023

65 72

Dec 2023

66 72

Jan 2024

65 73

Feb 2024

64 75

Mar 2024

65 71

Apr 2024

69 70

May 2024

73 78

Jun 2024

75 71

Among the June separations in Utah, 44,000 were quits and 22,000 were layoffs and discharges, compared to 48,000 quits and 27,000 layoffs and discharges in May. (See chart 3.) Over the last 12 months, quits averaged 47,000 per month, ranging from 43,000 to 54,000. Layoffs and discharges have averaged 21,000 per month, ranging from 16,000 to 27,000.

View Chart Data
Chart 3. Quits and layoffs and discharges in Utah, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Month Quits Layoffs & discharges

Jun 2020

29 22

Jul 2020

36 16

Aug 2020

36 18

Sep 2020

34 27

Oct 2020

36 13

Nov 2020

35 20

Dec 2020

34 19

Jan 2021

35 17

Feb 2021

54 14

Mar 2021

45 16

Apr 2021

52 14

May 2021

47 13

Jun 2021

50 12

Jul 2021

47 17

Aug 2021

39 12

Sep 2021

60 13

Oct 2021

53 11

Nov 2021

57 14

Dec 2021

54 12

Jan 2022

55 15

Feb 2022

47 15

Mar 2022

63 10

Apr 2022

49 12

May 2022

49 16

Jun 2022

44 16

Jul 2022

43 14

Aug 2022

51 18

Sep 2022

52 17

Oct 2022

47 21

Nov 2022

51 17

Dec 2022

63 15

Jan 2023

46 19

Feb 2023

45 15

Mar 2023

42 19

Apr 2023

43 20

May 2023

48 19

Jun 2023

43 18

Jul 2023

53 20

Aug 2023

54 19

Sep 2023

44 16

Oct 2023

44 16

Nov 2023

46 22

Dec 2023

45 21

Jan 2024

50 19

Feb 2024

48 22

Mar 2024

43 25

Apr 2024

44 21

May 2024

48 27

Jun 2024

44 22

The State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for July 2024 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. (MT).

Annual Revisions to Job Openings and Labor Turnover State Data

The JOLTS state data are revised annually to reflect updates to the JOLTS national estimates, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates, and the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) through fourth quarter 2023. This annual benchmarking process results in revisions to both the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted JOLTS state data series. Seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data from January 2019 forward are subject to revision.

Tables displaying revisions to seasonally adjusted JOLTS state data for the most recent benchmark period are available on the JOLTS website. The website also contains all revised seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data.


Technical Note

This news release presents statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The JOLTS program provides information on labor demand and turnover. The state estimates produced by JOLTS are model-based incorporating JOLTS sample, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), and Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates. For more information see the JOLTS State Estimates Methodology.

Job Openings. Job openings include all positions that are open on the last business day of the reference month. A job is open only if it meets all three of these conditions:

  • A specific position exists and there is work available for that position.
  • The job could start within 30 days.
  • The employer is actively recruiting workers from outside the establishment to fill the position.

The number of unemployed persons per job opening is a ratio of the level of unemployed persons and the level of job openings. The number of unemployed persons at the national level is an estimate from the Current Population Survey (CPS), while state-level unemployment estimates are modeled by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. A ratio of 1.0 means there is a job available for every unemployed person. Lower ratios signal tighter labor markets, where firms have more job openings than there are unemployed persons available to work. Higher ratios indicate there are more unemployed persons competing for each job opening.

Hires. Hires include all additions to the payroll during the entire reference month.

Separations. Separations include all separations from the payroll during the entire reference month and is reported by type of separation: quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations.

  • Quits include employees who left voluntarily, except for retirements or transfers to other locations.
  • Layoffs and discharges include involuntary separations initiated by the employer.
  • Other separations include retirements, transfers to other locations, separations due to employee disability, and deaths.

Levels and rates of other separations represent a small portion of total separations and are not published with the release of state estimates.

Complete definitions, including exclusions, and additional information about the State JOLTS data presented in this release are available in the State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Technical Note.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Job openings and labor turnover for Utah, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Estimate June 2023 March 2024 April 2024 May 2024 June 2024(p) Change from May 2024 to June 2024(p)

Openings

104 90 85 89 93 4

Hires

65 65 69 73 75 2

Total separations

63 71 70 78 71 -7

Quits

43 43 44 48 44 -4

Layoffs & discharges

18 25 21 27 22 -5

(p) Preliminary.

Table 2. Job openings and labor turnover rates for Utah, seasonally adjusted
Estimate June 2023 March 2024 April 2024 May 2024 June 2024(p) Change from May 2024 to June 2024(p)

Openings(1)

5.7 4.9 4.6 4.8 5.0 0.2

Hires(2)

3.8 3.7 3.9 4.2 4.3 0.1

Total separations(3)

3.7 4.1 4.0 4.4 4.0 -0.4

Quits(3)

2.5 2.5 2.5 2.7 2.5 -0.2

Layoffs & discharges(3)

1.0 1.4 1.2 1.5 1.2 -0.3

(p) Preliminary.
(1) The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(2) The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(3) The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits and layoffs and discharges rates are computed similarly.

Table 3. Job openings and labor turnover rates for the United States, seasonally adjusted
Estimate June 2023 March 2024 April 2024 May 2024 June 2024(p) Change from May 2024 to June 2024(p)

Openings(1)

5.5 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.9 0.0

Hires(2)

3.8 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.4 -0.2

Total separations(3)

3.6 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.2 -0.2

Quits(3)

2.4 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1 0.0

Layoffs & discharges(3)

1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 0.9 -0.2

(p) Preliminary.
(1) The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(2) The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(3) The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits and layoffs and discharges rates are computed similarly.