BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

10/24/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/24/2024 13:18

Oregon Job Openings and Labor Turnover — August 2024

News Release Information

24-2224-SAN
Thursday, October 24, 2024

ContactsTechnical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Oregon Job Openings and Labor Turnover - August 2024

Oregon had 114,000 job openings in August 2024, compared to 106,000 openings in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the job openings rate in Oregon was 5.4 percent in August and 5.1 percent in the previous month. (See chart 1 and table 2.) The job openings rate nationally was 4.8 percent in August and 4.6 percent in July. (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 Oregon, seasonally adjusted
Month Oregon United States

Aug 2020

5.1 4.3

Sep 2020

5.1 4.4

Oct 2020

4.8 4.6

Nov 2020

5.7 4.6

Dec 2020

4.4 4.5

Jan 2021

5.0 4.8

Feb 2021

5.8 5.2

Mar 2021

6.5 5.6

Apr 2021

6.4 6.0

May 2021

7.4 6.4

Jun 2021

7.3 6.6

Jul 2021

7.3 7.0

Aug 2021

7.5 6.9

Sep 2021

6.9 6.9

Oct 2021

7.2 7.1

Nov 2021

7.4 7.0

Dec 2021

7.5 7.1

Jan 2022

7.1 7.0

Feb 2022

7.5 7.2

Mar 2022

7.6 7.4

Apr 2022

7.1 7.2

May 2022

7.1 7.0

Jun 2022

6.4 6.9

Jul 2022

6.9 7.0

Aug 2022

6.2 6.2

Sep 2022

6.6 6.6

Oct 2022

7.0 6.4

Nov 2022

6.7 6.5

Dec 2022

7.0 6.7

Jan 2023

7.9 6.3

Feb 2023

5.7 6.0

Mar 2023

5.6 5.8

Apr 2023

6.5 6.0

May 2023

5.7 5.6

Jun 2023

5.4 5.5

Jul 2023

5.4 5.3

Aug 2023

5.6 5.6

Sep 2023

5.6 5.6

Oct 2023

5.0 5.2

Nov 2023

5.2 5.4

Dec 2023

5.0 5.3

Jan 2024

6.4 5.3

Feb 2024

5.2 5.3

Mar 2024

5.0 5.0

Apr 2024

5.1 4.8

May 2024

5.3 4.9

Jun 2024

5.2 4.8

Jul 2024

5.1 4.6

Aug 2024

5.4 4.8

The ratio of unemployed persons per job opening in Oregon was 0.8 in August. Nationwide, 39 states and the District of Columbia had ratios in August that were lower than the national measure of 0.9 unemployed persons per job opening; 9 states had ratios that were higher than the national ratio, and 2 states had ratios equal to the national measure. (See map 1.)

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

(U.S. ratio = 0.9)

In August, Oregon had 64,000 hires and 70,000 separations, compared to 75,000 hires and 84,000 separations in July. (See chart 2.) Over the 12 months ending in August, hires have averaged 73,000 per month and separations have averaged 75,000 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 Oregon, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Month Hires Total separations

Aug 2020

68 61

Sep 2020

76 71

Oct 2020

83 63

Nov 2020

81 79

Dec 2020

66 78

Jan 2021

71 66

Feb 2021

82 65

Mar 2021

90 68

Apr 2021

87 93

May 2021

82 87

Jun 2021

87 71

Jul 2021

93 71

Aug 2021

88 78

Sep 2021

85 84

Oct 2021

83 79

Nov 2021

94 89

Dec 2021

96 91

Jan 2022

85 77

Feb 2022

91 82

Mar 2022

87 75

Apr 2022

89 75

May 2022

81 76

Jun 2022

84 73

Jul 2022

80 87

Aug 2022

111 93

Sep 2022

93 78

Oct 2022

94 86

Nov 2022

79 88

Dec 2022

79 70

Jan 2023

105 89

Feb 2023

81 75

Mar 2023

81 73

Apr 2023

75 75

May 2023

85 73

Jun 2023

74 70

Jul 2023

73 83

Aug 2023

72 75

Sep 2023

77 74

Oct 2023

72 70

Nov 2023

67 71

Dec 2023

69 69

Jan 2024

84 81

Feb 2024

73 82

Mar 2024

72 73

Apr 2024

78 80

May 2024

75 78

Jun 2024

73 72

Jul 2024

75 84

Aug 2024

64 70

Among the August separations in Oregon, 42,000 were quits and 23,000 were layoffs and discharges, compared to 44,000 quits and 29,000 layoffs and discharges in July. (See chart 3.) Over the last 12 months, quits averaged 47,000 per month, ranging from 40,000 to 52,000. Layoffs and discharges have averaged 23,000 per month, ranging from 18,000 to 29,000.

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

Aug 2020

36 21

Sep 2020

36 31

Oct 2020

39 20

Nov 2020

36 40

Dec 2020

46 29

Jan 2021

45 17

Feb 2021

44 17

Mar 2021

48 17

Apr 2021

55 32

May 2021

66 17

Jun 2021

52 15

Jul 2021

53 14

Aug 2021

58 16

Sep 2021

65 14

Oct 2021

59 15

Nov 2021

59 26

Dec 2021

61 26

Jan 2022

59 15

Feb 2022

57 22

Mar 2022

57 15

Apr 2022

58 13

May 2022

55 17

Jun 2022

53 17

Jul 2022

48 21

Aug 2022

58 25

Sep 2022

56 18

Oct 2022

53 29

Nov 2022

59 20

Dec 2022

57 9

Jan 2023

62 23

Feb 2023

52 19

Mar 2023

47 22

Apr 2023

48 24

May 2023

52 18

Jun 2023

48 20

Jul 2023

53 24

Aug 2023

49 22

Sep 2023

50 18

Oct 2023

48 20

Nov 2023

48 19

Dec 2023

44 19

Jan 2024

52 24

Feb 2024

52 23

Mar 2024

40 27

Apr 2024

49 24

May 2024

47 26

Jun 2024

43 21

Jul 2024

44 29

Aug 2024

42 23

The State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for September 2024 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).


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 Oregon, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Estimate August 2023 May 2024 June 2024 July 2024 August 2024(p) Change from July 2024 to August 2024(p)

Openings

118 110 109 106 114 8

Hires

72 75 73 75 64 -11

Total separations

75 78 72 84 70 -14

Quits

49 47 43 44 42 -2

Layoffs & discharges

22 26 21 29 23 -6

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.

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

Openings(1)

5.6 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.4 0.3

Hires(2)

3.6 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.2 -0.6

Total separations(3)

3.8 3.9 3.6 4.2 3.5 -0.7

Quits(3)

2.5 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.1 -0.1

Layoffs & discharges(3)

1.1 1.3 1.1 1.5 1.2 -0.3

Footnotes:
(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 August 2023 May 2024 June 2024 July 2024 August 2024(p) Change from July 2024 to August 2024(p)

Openings(1)

5.6 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.8 0.2

Hires(2)

3.8 3.6 3.3 3.4 3.3 -0.1

Total separations(3)

3.6 3.4 3.2 3.4 3.1 -0.3

Quits(3)

2.3 2.1 2.0 2.0 1.9 -0.1

Layoffs & discharges(3)

1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 -0.1

Footnotes:
(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.