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JOLTS 2025 Benchmark Article

Benchmarking Job Openings and Labor Turnover Estimates: 2025

Summary
Benchmarking process
Availability of revised estimates
Benchmark Tables

Summary

With the release of January data for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published its annual revisions to national and regional estimates. These estimates include job openings, hires, and total separations, as well as the three components of total separations—quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data back to January 2021 are subject to revision.

When compared to the previously published seasonally adjusted estimates for January 2025, layoffs and discharges were revised upward +3.7 percent. All other data elements were revised downward, including -0.6 percent for total separations, -1.7 percent for quits, -2.5 percent for hires, -4.5 percent for job openings, and -13.6 percent for other separations (Table 1a). Average monthly revisions for all data element levels fell within the 5-year historical minimum and maximum revisions for 2020-2024 (Table 1b).

Benchmarking process

The BLS revises JOLTS data annually to reflect updates to the Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates. The annual benchmarking process is done to ensure that employment levels, which are used in the calculation of JOLTS rates, reflect the most up-to-date CES employment measures. The BLS ratio-adjusts JOLTS employment levels (not published) to the revised CES employment levels, and the resulting ratios are applied to all JOLTS data elements. This annual benchmarking process results in revisions to both the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted JOLTS data series. The seasonally adjusted data are recalculated for the most recent 5 years to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.

Further, the alignment methodology creates a dependency of the not seasonally adjusted estimates on the seasonal adjustment process. Therefore, the data series that are not seasonally adjusted are also recalculated for the most recent 5 years to reflect the effect of the updated seasonal adjustment factors on the alignment process. See the JOLTS Handbook of Methods for more information.

BLS determined an additional alignment procedure was needed in federal government for September 2025 through January 2026, the months impacted by large employment declines, due mostly to the federal deferred resignation program. Since federal employees who accepted the deferred resignation offer came off payrolls on the last day of the months—after the CES survey reference periods—BLS took extra steps to reconcile the CES employment change and the JOLTS hires minus separations difference. BLS made an adjustment that accounted for this divergence while simultaneously preserving the impact of the deferred resignation program on the JOLTS separations. BLS distributed the CES employment changes across the affected months by apportioning the difference between the JOLTS hires and separations levels. This approach allowed the JOLTS estimates to capture the month-to-month changes due to the deferred resignation program while also reflecting the impacts of the CES employment estimates.

Availability of revised estimates

Table 1c presents revised levels on a seasonally adjusted basis for January 2025 through December 2025. The revised data incorporates the effect of applying the new seasonally adjusted benchmark levels and the new seasonal adjustment factors.

Historical industry and regional revision data for each of the JOLTS data elements are shown in Tables 2a and 2b for seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted levels. The BLS online database contains all historical JOLTS estimates that have been revised as a result of this annual benchmark process, including both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data.

Benchmark Tables

Table 1a. Percent and level differences (in thousands) between January 2025 benchmarks and previously published estimates for total nonfarm levels
Table 1b. Historical ranges of percent differences in total nonfarm levels, seasonally adjusted, 2020-2025
Table 1c. Differences in seasonally adjusted levels in thousands and over-the-month changes, total nonfarm level revisions, 2025
Table 2a. Historical seasonally adjusted revision tables
Table 2b. Historical not seasonally adjusted revision tables
Table 3. Percent and level differences (in thousands) between benchmarks and estimates by data element for total nonfarm January 2015 - January 2025, not seasonally adjusted

Top

Table 1a. Percent and level differences (in thousands) between January 2025 benchmarks and estimates by data element for total nonfarm
Data element	Seasonally adjusted				Not seasonally adjusted
Data element	As revised	As previously published	Level difference	Percent difference	As revised	As previously published	Level difference	Percent difference
Job openings	7,431	7,762	-331	-4.5	7,612	7,870	-258	-3.4
Hires	5,238	5,371	-133	-2.5	5,125	5,259	-134	-2.6
Total separations	5,241	5,272	-31	-0.6	5,708	5,632	76	1.3
Quits	3,203	3,256	-53	-1.7	3,110	3,152	-42	-1.4
Layoffs and discharges	1,738	1,674	64	3.7	2,245	2,091	154	6.9
Other separations	301	342	-41	-13.6	353	389	-36	-10.2

Table 1b. Historical ranges of percent differences, seasonally adjusted, 2020-2025
Data element	Percent difference monthly range (2020-2024)		Percent difference monthly range (2025)		Percent difference absolute monthly average
Data element	Min	Max	Min	Max	2020-2024	2025
Job openings	-7.9%	4.6%	-6.8%	0.1%	2.2%	3.4%
Hires	-6.4%	13.0%	-4.2%	1.1%	2.2%	1.9%
Total separations	-3.7%	15.3%	-2.2%	2.0%	2.3%	1.3%
Quits	-4.3%	10.9%	-4.6%	3.2%	2.3%	1.8%
Layoffs and discharges	-9.0%	17.2%	-5.8%	5.8%	3.7%	3.0%
Other separations	-19.7%	15.8%	-13.6%	8.7%	5.2%	4.1%

Table 1c. Differences in seasonally adjusted levels in thousands and over-the-month changes, total nonfarm level revisions per data element, 2025
Month	Levels			Over-the-month changes
Month	As Revised	As Previously Published	Difference	As Revised	As Previously Published	Difference
Job Openings
January	7,431	7,762	-331	136	254	-118
February	7,242	7,480	-238	-189	-282	93
March	6,952	7,200	-248	-290	-280	-10
April	7,098	7,395	-297	146	195	-49
May	7,310	7,712	-402	212	317	-105
June	7,204	7,357	-153	-106	-355	249
July	7,089	7,208	-119	-115	-149	34
August	6,919	7,227	-308	-170	19	-189
September	7,169	7,658	-489	250	431	-181
October	7,170	7,449	-279	1	-209	210
November	6,846	6,928	-82	-324	-521	197
December	6,550	6,542	8	-296	-386	90
Hires
January	5,238	5,371	-133	-54	-3	-51
February	5,236	5,370	-134	-2	-1	-1
March	5,333	5,404	-71	97	34	63
April	5,391	5,615	-224	58	211	-153
May	5,328	5,465	-137	-63	-150	87
June	5,327	5,267	60	-1	-198	197
July	5,225	5,240	-15	-102	-27	-75
August	5,145	5,126	19	-80	-114	34
September	5,244	5,367	-123	99	241	-142
October	5,180	5,368	-188	-64	1	-65
November	5,019	5,121	-102	-161	-247	86
December	5,272	5,293	-21	253	172	81
Total Separations
January	5,241	5,272	-31	192	190	2
February	5,285	5,316	-31	44	44	0
March	5,288	5,183	105	3	-133	136
April	5,270	5,313	-43	-18	130	-148
May	5,288	5,213	75	18	-100	118
June	5,432	5,341	91	144	128	16
July	5,170	5,221	-51	-262	-120	-142
August	5,207	5,111	96	37	-110	147
September	5,161	5,264	-103	-46	153	-199
October	5,125	5,069	56	-36	-195	159
November	5,035	5,144	-109	-90	75	-165
December	5,203	5,251	-48	168	107	61
Quits
January	3,203	3,256	-53	118	161	-43
February	3,153	3,250	-97	-50	-6	-44
March	3,456	3,344	112	303	94	209
April	3,144	3,215	-71	-312	-129	-183
May	3,287	3,270	17	143	55	88
June	3,254	3,209	45	-33	-61	28
July	3,132	3,166	-34	-122	-43	-79
August	3,095	3,091	4	-37	-75	38
September	2,990	3,128	-138	-105	37	-142
October	2,980	2,973	7	-10	-155	145
November	3,119	3,193	-74	139	220	-81
December	3,225	3,204	21	106	11	95
Layoffs and Discharges
January	1,738	1,674	64	49	5	44
February	1,867	1,780	87	129	106	23
March	1,595	1,590	5	-272	-190	-82
April	1,818	1,789	29	223	199	24
May	1,671	1,611	60	-147	-178	31
June	1,843	1,796	47	172	185	-13
July	1,772	1,787	-15	-71	-9	-62
August	1,832	1,725	107	60	-62	122
September	1,816	1,781	35	-16	56	-72
October	1,891	1,850	41	75	69	6
November	1,660	1,701	-41	-231	-149	-82
December	1,666	1,762	-96	6	61	-55
Other Separations
January	301	342	-41	26	24	2
February	265	286	-21	-36	-56	20
March	237	248	-11	-28	-38	10
April	307	309	-2	70	61	9
May	331	332	-1	24	23	1
June	335	335	0	4	3	1
July	266	269	-3	-69	-66	-3
August	280	295	-15	14	26	-12
September	356	354	2	76	59	17
October	255	246	9	-101	-108	7
November	256	249	7	1	3	-2
December	312	285	27	56	36	20

Table 3. Over-The-Year Percent and level differences (in thousands) between benchmarks and estimates by data element for total nonfarm January 2015 - January 2025, not seasonally adjusted
Data element	Type	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Job openings	Percent	0.9	0.8	-3.1	5.1	-1.1	2.1	1.8	2.1	-0.8	-3.3	-3.4
Job openings	Level	43	44	-165	333	-85	149	127	235	-84	-281	-258
Hires	Percent	0.9	1.5	0.4	-2.0	0.2	1.8	4.4	1.9	0.1	-1.3	-2.6
Hires	Level	41	75	23	-105	12	102	238	118	4	-70	-134
Total separations	Percent	-0.2	1.3	-0.9	0.0	-0.6	0.8	-4.3	3.9	-0.2	0.0	1.3
Total separations	Level	-13	74	-49	-2	-38	52	-242	254	-11	-2	76
Quits	Percent	-0.1	1.9	-0.8	-4.8	0.3	0.1	-3.6	4.4	-0.4	-1.4	-1.4
Quits	Level	-4	55	-26	-143	10	4	-115	190	-15	-47	-42
Layoffs and discharges	Percent	-1.1	1.3	-0.6	5.5	-0.6	2.5	-5.8	3.3	1.3	3.2	6.9
Layoffs and discharges	Level	-24	27	-12	134	-12	55	-121	60	30	68	154
Other separations	Percent	3.4	-1.8	-2.4	1.9	-9.4	-1.6	-1.7	1.0	-8.2	-5.2	-10.2
Other separations	Level	15	-9	-11	8	-36	-7	-6	5	-27	-23	-36

Last Modified Date: March 13, 2026