U.S. job openings, hires and separations all fell in January, according to numbers released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job openings fell by 31.0% year-over-year in January to almost 3.0 million, according to the BLS. The job openings rate fell to 2.2% from 3.0% a year ago.

The number of hires dropped 11.9% compared with January 2008 to approximately 4.4 million. The hires rate fell to 3.3% from 3.6% a year ago.

Separations edged down 0.3% year-over-year in January to approximately 4.9 million. The separations rate was unchanged at 3.6%.