Texas saw the largest decrease in employee hires in the nation in June, while job openings inched up slightly from May, according to a Wednesday report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The number of hires in Texas dropped to 568,000 in June, down 0.7% or 80,000 less from the 648,000 new hires in May.
In addition to Texas, two other states reported that hire rates decreased: Nevada and Illinois. The hire rate increased only in Michigan, up 0.7% from the previous month.
Year over year, Texas saw a drop in hire rates from 4.5% in June 2021 to 4.2% in June 2022, tying the national hire rate for this year. Texas had 14,000 more job openings, 6.9%, in June than in May.
The number of job openings decreased in 19 states, with the largest drops over the month in California (-212,000), Pennsylvania (-89,000), and Massachusetts (-53,000). The two states with the largest job opening increases were Georgia with 51,000 and Ohio with 22,000.
Nationally, the country saw a decrease of 605,000 job openings in June, as the job opening rate settled at 6.6%, up from 6.3% in June 2021. In June of last year, Texas job openings totaled 891,000, or a rate of 6.6%, about 0.3% higher than the national average last year.
Texas and 30 other states, as well as the District of Columbia, ended June with little-to-no change in job opening rates. Job opening rates decreased in 17 states and significantly increased in two states – Georgia and Ohio, up 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively.
The BLS report also calculates the monthly number of total separations, quits, layoffs, and discharges in the nonfarming sector for each state and the District of Columbia.
The report reveals the total separations rate decreased in five states, including Michigan, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania among the highest. Massachusetts, Illinois, and Oklahoma saw increases in June total separations rates. The national total separation rate minimally decreased 0.1% from May to June.
Quit rate levels in Texas remained unchanged for June, holding steady at 3.0%, down 0.2% from June 2021. Texas’ quit rate level is slightly higher than the national average of 2.8% for June, which was unchanged over the month.
June’s quit rates decreased in seven states, with the largest in Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Alaska. The quit rates increased in five states, with the most significant in Oklahoma, Georgia, and Maine.
Calculated in thousands, the number of quits decreased in five states, with the most notable in California (-58,000), Pennsylvania (-41,000), and Florida (-35,000). The largest increases in quits level were in Georgia (27,000), New Jersey (18,000), and Arizona and Oklahoma at 15,000 each. The national quit level was also unchanged for the month.
The layoff and discharge rate for June decreased in nine states. New Mexico, New Jersey, and Michigan saw the largest drops, while Massachusetts, Illinois, and Missouri saw the largest rate increases in layoffs and discharges.
In terms of layoffs and discharges levels, Florida saw the largest decrease, down 33,000, and Illinois saw the largest increase, up 43,000.
Nationally, June’s rates and numbers of both layoffs and discharges were unchanged.
BLS will release the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey state estimates for July on September 16.