Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey - July 2026

General Description

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) is conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The program involves the monthly collection, processing, and dissemination of job openings and labor turnover data. The data, collected from sampled establishments on a voluntary basis, include employment, job openings, hires, quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations.

The number of unfilled jobs--used to calculate the job openings rate--is an important measure of the unmet demand for labor. With that statistic, it is possible to paint a more complete picture of the U.S. labor market than by looking solely at the unemployment rate, a measure of the excess supply of labor.

Information on labor turnover is valuable in the proper analysis and interpretation of labor market developments and as a complement to the unemployment rate.

Glossary

• Job opening

  Includes all positions open on the last business day of the reference month.

  Note: To be considered “open,” a job must meet all three of the following conditions: (1) There is work available for the position, (2) The job could start within 30 days, and (3) The employer is actively recruiting for the position.

  Also known as vacancies.

• Job openings rate

  Portion of all jobs (filled and unfilled) open on the last business day of the reference month.

  See also vacancy rate.

• Hires

  All additions to the payroll during the reference month.

  Note: Includes new and rehired employees; full-time and part-time employees; permanent, short-term, and seasonal employees; employees who were recalled to a job at a location following a layoff (formal suspension from pay status) lasting more than 7 days; on-call or intermittent employees who returned to work after having been formally separated; workers who were hired and separated during the month, and transfers from other locations. Excluded are transfers or promotions within the reporting location, employees returning from strike, employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, outside contractors, and consultants.

• Hires rate

  Hires during the month, divided by the number of employees who worked during or received pay for the pay period that includes the 12th of the month, multiplied by 100.
• Total separations

  All employees who separated from payroll during the reference month. Reported by type of separation (quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations).
• Total separations rate

  Total separations during the month, divided by the number of employees who worked during or received pay for the pay period that includes the 12th of the month, multiplied by 100.
• Quits

  Employees who voluntarily left payroll, except for retirements or transfers to other locations (which are reported in “other separations”).
• Quits rate

  The number of employees who voluntarily left payroll during a month, divided by the number of employees who worked during or received pay for the pay period that includes the 12th of the same month, multiplied by 100.
• Layoffs and discharges

  Number of employees who were laid off or fired from a job during the month.

  Note: Includes involuntary separations initiated by the employer including layoffs with no intent to rehire; layoffs (formal suspensions from pay status) lasting or expected to last more than 7 days; discharges resulting from mergers, downsizing, or closings; firings or other discharges for cause; terminations of permanent or short-term employees; and terminations of seasonal employees (whether or not they are expected to return the next season).

• Layoffs and discharges rate

  Layoffs and discharges during the month, divided by the number of employees who worked during or received pay for the pay period that includes the 12th of the month, multiplied by 100.
• Other separations

  Employees who left payroll because of retirement, transfer to another location, death, or disability.
• Other separations rate

  Other separations (employees who left payroll because of retirement, transfer to another location, death, or disability) during the month, divided by the number of employees who worked during or received pay for the pay period that includes the 12th of the month, multiplied by 100.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. Does the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey break out data by occupation?

   No, JOLTS does not collect occupation information. The Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program publish employment statistics by occupation, though neither program collects data on job openings.

2. Is hires minus separations equal to the over-the-month employment change as measured by the Current Employment Statistics?

   Over-the-month employment change is measured by the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey—often referred to as the establishment survey—and is reported in the Employment Situation news release. If separations are subtracted from hires, the difference represents an implied employment change. The JOLTS implied employment change and the CES over-the-month employment change are conceptually similar and track well over time. However, the series can diverge from each other in the short term because the two surveys differ in methodology. For example, they have definitional differences, different reference periods, and distinct estimation procedures.

3. Why does the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey have revisions?

   JOLTS revises published estimates to improve its data series by incorporating additional information that was not available at the time of the initial publication of the estimates. The first time a monthly estimate is published, it is considered preliminary. The following month, that estimate is revised to incorporate additional sample receipts from respondents in the survey and is considered final. The recalculation of seasonal factors also contributes to the monthly revisions.

   Additionally, JOLTS estimates are revised annually to reflect annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates. At the time of the annual updates, the prior 5 years of seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted JOLTS data are subject to revision.

4. How big is the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey sample?

   JOLTS samples approximately 21,000 units, primarily using the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) as its sample frame. The QCEW provides a list of establishments that cover over 95 percent of nonfarm payroll jobs in the United States. For more information about the JOLTS sample, see the Data Sources section of the JOLTS Handbook of Methods.

Technical Information

• Technical note
• Reliability of estimates
• Handbook of Methods