Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on Job Openings and Labor Turnover data for May 2021

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) national estimates of job openings, hires, and separations have been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This page provides further information on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for the May 2021 JOLTS news release.

More information on the JOLTS methodology can be found in the JOLTS Handbook of Methods chapter.

Collection mode

Data collection for JOLTS was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, JOLTS collected 42 percent of data by phone at the JOLTS data collection center on average. Most phone respondents were asked to report electronically. However, data collection was adversely affected by the inability to reach some respondents that normally respond by phone.

Table 1. Percent of establishments responding to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey by collection mode

Time period	Phone	Web	Other
12-month average through February 2020	42%	52%	6%
March 2020	19%	75%	6%
April 2020	27%	68%	5%
May 2020	28%	67%	5%
June 2020	32%	62%	6%
July 2020	31%	65%	4%
August 2020	32%	63%	5%
September 2020	33%	62%	6%
October 2020	29%	66%	6%
November 2020	30%	65%	5%
December 2020	31%	64%	6%
January 2021	31%	64%	5%
February 2021	34%	61%	5%
March 2021	30%	64%	6%
April 2021	33%	62%	6%
May 2021	22%	72%	6%

Response rates

The preliminary JOLTS response rate for May was 44 percent. In April, the final response rate was 48 percent. In the year prior to the pandemic, the preliminary response rate averaged 54 percent and the final response rate averaged 58 percent.

In May 2021, JOLTS response rates declined in all size classes and in all industries. The industries with the largest declines in response rates were state and local government education and state and local government, excluding education.

Table 2. Response rates for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

Time period	Preliminary rate	Final rate
12-month average through February 2020	54%	58%
March 2020	46%	51%
April 2020	44%	49%
May 2020	45%	51%
June 2020	47%	50%
July 2020	46%	50%
August 2020	47%	50%
September 2020	47%	50%
October 2020	45%	49%
November 2020	43%	47%
December 2020	42%	48%
January 2021	43%	48%
February 2021	45%	49%
March 2021	45%	48%
April 2021	44%	48%
May 2021	44%	Not available

Imputation

JOLTS imputation for May resulted in very few cells with more imputation relative to the previous year. The industries that generally experienced more imputation were mining and logging, professional and business services, and federal government.

Changes to methods

At the onset of the pandemic, the JOLTS program reviewed all estimation and methodological procedures. Changes to the JOLTS estimation and seasonal adjustment methods are described below.

Estimation

For the May 2021 preliminary and the April 2021 final JOLTS estimates, there was no suppression of the alignment process. The JOLTS hires minus separations and CES over-the-month employment changes are no longer significantly different. Please see below for further explanation.

BLS modified the JOLTS estimates for the March 2020 preliminary through the November 2020 preliminary estimates to better reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and produce the highest quality JOLTS estimates possible in this unique situation. The estimation process usually includes an alignment of monthly hires minus separations to the over-the-month change in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates. BLS suspended the alignment process during this time frame because the differing reference periods for the CES employment estimates (pay period including the 12th of the month) and the JOLTS hires and separations estimates (the entire reference month) led to different measurement outcomes. For example, hires and separations during the latter half of April 2020 were not included in the CES employment change for April 2020, but were included in the JOLTS data for the month.

The alignment portion of the JOLTS estimation process was designed to correct a long-term divergence between the JOLTS implied employment change and the CES employment change. JOLTS hires minus separations and CES employment change generally approximate one another. Alignment was developed to correct small monthly discrepancies between the two series that build up over time; it was not designed to address a substantial short-term divergence between the two series.

Seasonal Adjustment

Seasonal adjustment factors can be either multiplicative or additive. A multiplicative seasonal effect is assumed to be proportional to the level of the series. A sudden large increase in the level of the series will be accompanied by a proportionally large seasonal effect. In contrast, an additive seasonal effect is assumed to be unaffected by the level of the series. In times of relative economic stability, the multiplicative option is generally preferred over the additive option. However, in the presence of a large level shift in a time series, multiplicative seasonal adjustment factors can result in systematic over- or under-adjustment of the series; in such cases, additive seasonal adjustment factors are preferred since they tend to more accurately track seasonal fluctuations in the series and have smaller revisions.

In accordance with the survey’s usual practice, the seasonal adjustment factors were reviewed through the calendar year ending in December 2020, and 5 years of seasonally adjusted estimates were revised. The majority of the JOLTS series retained the additive designation.

Comparison of current month estimates with past monthly JOLTS estimates

Please see the following tables for a comparison of May 2021 estimates to historical levels.

Table 3a. Job openings by sector and region (numbers in thousands)

Sector and region	May 2021 level	Monthly change	Monthly percent change	Last time level was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time level was larger or equal or next closest		Last time monthly change was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time monthly change was larger or equal or next closest		Last time monthly percent change was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time monthly percent change was larger or equal or next closest
Total nonfarm	9,209	16	0.2	Apr 2021	9,193	Apr 2021	9,193	Dec 2020	-14	Apr 2021	905	Dec 2020	-0.2	Apr 2021	10.9
Total private	8,305	42	0.5	Apr 2021	8,263	Apr 2021	8,263	Dec 2020	16	Apr 2021	817	Dec 2020	0.3	Apr 2021	11.0
Government	904	-26	-2.8	Mar 2021	843	Apr 2021	930	Feb 2021	-61	Apr 2021	87	Feb 2021	-8.5	Apr 2021	10.3
Region
Northeast	1,661	16	1.0	Apr 2021	1,645	Apr 2021	1,645	Dec 2020	-24	Apr 2021	121	Dec 2020	-2.1	Apr 2021	7.9
South	3,543	34	1.0	Apr 2021	3,509	Apr 2021	3,509	Dec 2020	22	Apr 2021	346	Dec 2020	0.8	Apr 2021	10.9
Midwest	1,989	-80	-3.9	Mar 2021	1,783	Apr 2021	2,069	Aug 2020	-175	Apr 2021	286	Aug 2020	-11.2	Apr 2021	16.0
West	2,016	46	2.3	Apr 2021	1,970	Apr 2021	1,970	Dec 2020	-21	Apr 2021	152	Dec 2020	-1.4	Apr 2021	8.4

Table 3b. Hires by sector and region (numbers in thousands)

Sector and region	May 2021 level	Monthly change	Monthly percent change	Last time level was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time level was larger or equal or next closest		Last time monthly change was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time monthly change was larger or equal or next closest		Last time monthly percent change was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time monthly percent change was larger or equal or next closest
Total nonfarm	5,927	-85	-1.4	Feb 2021	5,794	Apr 2021	6,012	Dec 2020	-608	Apr 2021	6	Dec 2020	-10.1	Apr 2021	0.1
Total private	5,619	-42	-0.7	Feb 2021	5,490	Apr 2021	5,661	Dec 2020	-577	Apr 2021	15	Dec 2020	-10.2	Apr 2021	0.3
Government	307	-44	-12.5	Feb 2021	304	Apr 2021	351	Feb 2021	-59	Apr 2021	-9	Feb 2021	-16.3	Apr 2021	-2.5
Region
Northeast	848	-113	-11.8	Apr 2020	558	Apr 2021	961	Jul 2020	-268	Apr 2021	-36	Jul 2020	-19.0	Apr 2021	-3.6
South	2,432	73	3.1	Apr 2021	2,359	Nov 2020	2,458	Apr 2021	64	Mar 2021	111	Apr 2021	2.8	Mar 2021	5.1
Midwest	1,245	-45	-3.5	Jan 2021	1,241	Apr 2021	1,290	Dec 2020	-113	Apr 2021	-5	Dec 2020	-8.6	Apr 2021	-0.4
West	1,402	1	0.1	Apr 2021	1,401	Mar 2021	1,419	Apr 2021	-18	Mar 2021	98	Apr 2021	-1.3	Mar 2021	7.4

Table 3c. Total separations by sector and region (numbers in thousands)

Sector and region	May 2021 level	Monthly change	Monthly percent change	Last time level was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time level was larger or equal or next closest		Last time monthly change was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time monthly change was larger or equal or next closest		Last time monthly percent change was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time monthly percent change was larger or equal or next closest
Total nonfarm	5,318	-485	-8.4	Sep 2020	5,235	Apr 2021	5,803	Aug 2020	-491	Apr 2021	367	Aug 2020	-9.1	Apr 2021	6.8
Total private	5,035	-443	-8.1	Jan 2021	5,007	Apr 2021	5,478	Aug 2020	-445	Apr 2021	378	Aug 2020	-9.0	Apr 2021	7.4
Government	283	-42	-12.9	Jul 2016	283	Apr 2021	325	Dec 2020	-93	Apr 2021	-10	Dec 2020	-21.2	Apr 2021	-3.0
Region
Northeast	782	-56	-6.7	Sep 2020	753	Apr 2021	838	Jan 2021	-64	Apr 2021	23	Jan 2021	-7.5	Apr 2021	2.8
South	2,144	-206	-8.8	Jan 2021	2,128	Apr 2021	2,350	May 2020	-2108	Apr 2021	153	May 2020	-54.0	Apr 2021	7.0
Midwest	1,191	-77	-6.1	Jan 2021	1,111	Apr 2021	1,268	Dec 2020	-142	Apr 2021	68	Dec 2020	-10.9	Apr 2021	5.7
West	1,201	-146	-10.8	Oct 2020	1,157	Apr 2021	1,347	Aug 2020	-255	Apr 2021	124	Aug 2020	-18.9	Apr 2021	10.1

Table 3d. Layoffs and discharges by sector and region (numbers in thousands)

Sector and region	May 2021 level	Monthly change	Monthly percent change	Last time level was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time level was larger or equal or next closest		Last time monthly change was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time monthly change was larger or equal or next closest		Last time monthly percent change was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time monthly percent change was larger or equal or next closest
Total nonfarm	1,368	-82	-5.7	Sep 2020	1,555	Apr 2021	1,450	Mar 2021	-198	Apr 2021	-75	Mar 2021	-11.5	Apr 2021	-4.9
Total private	1,299	-66	-4.8	Sep 2020	1,406	Apr 2021	1,365	Apr 2021	-68	Feb 2021	2	Mar 2021	-12.4	Apr 2021	-4.7
Government	69	-17	-19.8	Nov 2001	71	Apr 2021	86	Dec 2020	-105	Apr 2021	-6	Dec 2020	-54.1	Apr 2021	-6.5
Region
Northeast	285	16	5.9	Apr 2021	269	Feb 2021	323	Apr 2021	6	Oct 2020	121	Apr 2021	2.3	Oct 2020	47.1
South	503	-16	-3.1	Sep 2020	502	Apr 2021	519	Apr 2021	-43	Feb 2021	21	Apr 2021	-7.7	Feb 2021	3.5
Midwest	324	3	0.9	Apr 2021	321	Mar 2021	349	Apr 2021	-28	Feb 2021	54	Apr 2021	-8.0	Feb 2021	16.5
West	257	-84	-24.6	May 2017	308	Apr 2021	341	Feb 2021	-89	Apr 2021	-10	May 2020	-81.0	Apr 2021	-2.8

Table 3e. Quits by sector and region (numbers in thousands)

Sector and region	May 2021 level	Monthly change	Monthly percent change	Last time level was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time level was larger or equal or next closest		Last time monthly change was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time monthly change was larger or equal or next closest		Last time monthly percent change was smaller or equal or next closest		Last time monthly percent change was larger or equal or next closest
Total nonfarm	3,604	-388	-9.7	Mar 2021	3,568	Apr 2021	3,992	Apr 2020	-795	Apr 2021	424	Apr 2020	-27.4	Apr 2021	11.9
Total private	3,438	-372	-9.8	Mar 2021	3,387	Apr 2021	3,810	Apr 2020	-736	Apr 2021	423	Apr 2020	-27.5	Apr 2021	12.5
Government	165	-17	-9.3	Feb 2018	165	Apr 2021	182	Mar 2021	-18	Apr 2021	1	Nov 2020	-19.7	Apr 2021	0.6
Region
Northeast	441	-66	-13.0	Jan 2021	432	Apr 2021	507	Apr 2020	-101	Apr 2021	16	Apr 2020	-24.7	Apr 2021	3.3
South	1,494	-202	-11.9	Feb 2021	1,406	Apr 2021	1,696	Apr 2020	-277	Apr 2021	191	Apr 2020	-24.0	Apr 2021	12.7
Midwest	803	-70	-8.0	Mar 2021	780	Apr 2021	873	Aug 2020	-130	Apr 2021	93	Aug 2020	-16.5	Apr 2021	11.9
West	865	-51	-5.6	Mar 2021	792	Apr 2021	916	Aug 2020	-137	Apr 2021	124	Aug 2020	-18.2	Apr 2021	15.7

Last Modified Date: July 29, 2021