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Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
Bureau of Labor Statistics > Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey > About > Overview

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Overview Page

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) is a monthly survey that has been developed to address the need for data on job openings, hires, and separations.

Purpose

These data serve as demand-side indicators of labor shortages at the national level. Prior to JOLTS, there was no economic indicator of the unmet demand for labor with which to assess the presence or extent of labor shortages in the United States. The availability of unfilled jobs—the job openings rate—is an important measure of the tightness of job markets, parallel to existing measures of unemployment.

Scope

Data from a sample of approximately 21,000 U.S. business establishments are collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics through JOLTS Data Collection Centers in Atlanta and Kansas City. The JOLTS survey covers all nonagricultural industries in the public and private sectors for the 50 States and the District of Columbia.

Data Elements

JOLTS collects data on Total Employment, Job Openings, Hires, Quits, Layoffs & Discharges, and Other Separations. For more information on the JOLTS data elements, see the JOLTS data definitions page.

Reference Periods

Total Employment - the pay period that includes the 12th of the month.

Job Openings - the last business day of the month.

Hires and Separations - the entire calendar month.

Forms of Publication

  • Monthly release of data in either news release or tables format
  • Internet - main database (LABSTAT)

Uses

  • National economic policy
  • Business cycle analysis
  • Industry turnover rates
  • Economic research and planning
  • Industry studies
  • Education and job training

Reliability

 

For additional information, please contact us.

 

Last Modified Date: May 6, 2024