For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, March 6, 2024 USDL-24-0449
Technical information: (202) 691-5870 • JoltsInfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/jlt
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov
JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER – JANUARY 2024
The number of job openings changed little at 8.9 million on the last business day of January, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, the number of hires and total separations
were little changed at 5.7 million and 5.3 million, respectively. Within separations, quits (3.4 million)
and layoffs and discharges (1.6 million) changed little. This release includes estimates of the number
and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by
establishment size class. This release also includes 2023 annual estimates for job openings, hires, and
separations.
Job Openings
On the last business day of January, the number of job openings changed little at 8.9 million; this
measure is down from a series high of 12.2 million in March 2022. Over the month, the rate was
unchanged at 5.3 percent. In January, job openings increased in nondurable goods manufacturing
(+82,000) but decreased in private educational services (-41,000). (See table 1.)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| Changes to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Data |
| |
|Effective with this release, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) estimates will |
|incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment data and the JOLTS |
|seasonal adjustment factors. Not seasonally adjusted data and seasonally adjusted data from January |
|2019 forward are subject to revision. |
| |
|Also, with this release, the “education and health services” industry will be renamed “private education |
|and health services.” In addition, “educational services” will be renamed “private educational services.”|
|This change is being made to align the industry titles with those used in the Current Employment |
|Statistics program. |
|_________________________________________________________________________________________________________|
Hires
In January, the number and rate of hires were little changed at 5.7 million and 3.6 percent, respectively.
Hires decreased in state and local government education (-37,000). (See table 2.)
Separations
Total separations include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Quits are generally
voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of
workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated
by the employer. Other separations include separations due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers
to other locations of the same firm.
The number of total separations in January changed little at 5.3 million, and the rate was 3.4 percent
for the third month in a row. Over the month, the number of total separations decreased in health care
and social assistance (-86,000) and in federal government (-8,000). (See table 3.)
In January, the number and rate of quits were little changed at 3.4 million and 2.1 percent, respectively.
The number of quits increased in information (+23,000) but decreased in real estate and rental and
leasing (-16,000). (See table 4.)
In January, the number of layoffs and discharges changed little at 1.6 million, and the rate was 1.0
percent for the third month in a row. The number of layoffs and discharges decreased in state and local
government education (-19,000) but increased in mining and logging (+7,000). (See table 5.)
The number of other separations was little changed in January at 384,000. (See table 6.)
Establishment Size Class
In January, establishments with 1 to 9 employees saw little change in their job openings rate, hires rate,
and total separations rate. The job openings rate decreased for establishments with 5,000 or more
employees. (See table 7.)
December 2023 Revisions
The number of job openings for December was revised down by 137,000 to 8.9 million, the number of
hires was revised up by 166,000 to 5.8 million, and the number of total separations was revised up by
54,000 to 5.4 million. Within separations, the number of quits was revised up by 47,000 to 3.4 million
and the number of layoffs and discharges was revised down by 9,000 to 1.6 million. (Monthly revisions
result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published
estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors. The annual benchmark process also contributes
to the December revisions.)
Annual Levels and Rates
Consistent with BLS practice, annual estimates are published for not seasonally adjusted data each year
with the January news release. For details about how these estimates are calculated, see the technical
note.
In 2023, the annual average job openings level was 9.4 million, a decrease of 1.8 million from 2022. The
annual average job openings rate was 5.7 percent in 2023, compared to 6.8 percent in 2022.
(See tables 15 and 16.)
In 2023, the annual hires level was 71.0 million, a decrease of 5.8 million from 2022. Annual total
separations decreased by 4.2 million in 2023 to 68.1 million. Annual quits decreased by 6.1 million in
2023 to 44.4 million and accounted for 65.2 percent of total separations. Annual layoffs and discharges
increased by 2.1 million in 2023 to 19.8 million and accounted for 29.0 percent of total separations.
Annual other separations decreased by 176,000 in 2023 to 3.9 million and accounted for 5.8 percent of
total separations. (See tables 17 through 26.)
The annual average hires rate for 2023 was 3.8 percent, down from 4.2 percent in 2022. The annual
average total separations rate for 2023 was 3.6 percent, compared to 3.9 percent in 2022. The annual
average rates for the components of total separations were 2.4 percent for quits, 1.1 percent for layoffs
and discharges, and 0.2 percent for other separations. (See tables 17 through 26.)
____________
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for February 2024 are scheduled to be
released on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Job openings | Hires | Total separations
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Category |Jan. |Dec. |Jan. |Jan. |Dec. |Jan. |Jan. |Dec. |Jan.
|2023 |2023 |2024p |2023 |2023 |2024p |2023 |2023 |2024p
--------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | | | | |
LEVELS BY INDUSTRY | | | | | | | | |
(in thousands) | | | | | | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total...........................|10,425 |8,889 |8,863 |6,374 |5,787 |5,687 |6,017 |5,419 |5,341
| | | | | | | | |
Total private..................|9,348 |7,884 |7,963 |5,932 |5,384 |5,323 |5,671 |5,060 |5,020
Mining and logging............|33 |32 |29 |26 |18 |23 |23 |19 |24
Construction..................|293 |434 |413 |386 |357 |380 |349 |335 |372
Manufacturing.................|719 |586 |622 |429 |371 |394 |421 |364 |363
Durable goods................|468 |408 |360 |226 |199 |222 |219 |192 |206
Nondurable goods.............|251 |179 |261 |203 |172 |172 |202 |172 |158
Trade, transportation, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities................|1,794 |1,318 |1,051 |1,393 |1,110 |1,068 |1,451 |1,058 |1,024
Wholesale trade..............|311 |230 |199 |176 |180 |170 |161 |173 |167
Retail trade.................|869 |710 |540 |829 |628 |618 |797 |584 |547
Transportation, warehousing, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities...............|615 |378 |312 |388 |302 |280 |494 |300 |310
Information...................|109 |177 |211 |69 |83 |82 |103 |67 |75
Financial activities..........|434 |482 |539 |218 |209 |211 |208 |203 |191
Finance and insurance........|313 |317 |360 |126 |123 |127 |115 |124 |115
Real estate and | | | | | | | | |
rental and leasing..........|121 |165 |178 |92 |86 |84 |93 |80 |75
Professional and business | | | | | | | | |
services.....................|2,042 |1,579 |1,633 |1,083 |1,086 |1,101 |1,091 |1,054 |1,089
Private education and health | | | | | | | | |
services.....................|2,009 |1,956 |1,986 |936 |872 |799 |769 |755 |667
Private educational services.|205 |173 |132 |114 |100 |85 |74 |86 |83
Health care and social | | | | | | | | |
assistance..................|1,804 |1,783 |1,854 |822 |772 |714 |695 |669 |583
Leisure and hospitality.......|1,534 |1,003 |1,100 |1,178 |1,068 |1,046 |1,050 |1,003 |987
Arts, entertainment, and | | | | | | | | |
recreation..................|200 |157 |159 |178 |185 |173 |158 |158 |145
Accommodation and food | | | | | | | | |
services....................|1,334 |847 |941 |1,000 |883 |873 |892 |845 |843
Other services................|380 |316 |380 |214 |210 |219 |207 |202 |229
Government.....................|1,077 |1,005 |900 |442 |403 |364 |347 |360 |321
Federal.......................|176 |166 |148 |43 |43 |43 |36 |39 |31
State and local...............|901 |838 |752 |399 |361 |322 |311 |321 |290
State and local education....|323 |280 |250 |219 |180 |143 |157 |164 |139
State and local, excluding | | | | | | | | |
education...................|578 |558 |502 |180 |181 |179 |154 |156 |151
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | | | | |
RATES BY INDUSTRY | | | | | | | | |
(percent) | | | | | | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total...........................|6.3 |5.3 |5.3 |4.1 |3.7 |3.6 |3.9 |3.4 |3.4
| | | | | | | | |
Total private..................|6.6 |5.5 |5.6 |4.5 |4.0 |4.0 |4.3 |3.8 |3.7
Mining and logging............|5.0 |4.7 |4.4 |4.1 |2.8 |3.6 |3.7 |2.9 |3.7
Construction..................|3.6 |5.1 |4.8 |4.9 |4.4 |4.7 |4.4 |4.1 |4.6
Manufacturing.................|5.3 |4.3 |4.6 |3.3 |2.9 |3.0 |3.3 |2.8 |2.8
Durable goods................|5.5 |4.8 |4.2 |2.8 |2.4 |2.7 |2.7 |2.4 |2.5
Nondurable goods.............|4.9 |3.6 |5.1 |4.2 |3.6 |3.6 |4.2 |3.6 |3.3
Trade, transportation, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities................|5.9 |4.4 |3.5 |4.8 |3.8 |3.7 |5.0 |3.7 |3.5
Wholesale trade..............|4.9 |3.6 |3.1 |2.9 |2.9 |2.8 |2.6 |2.8 |2.7
Retail trade.................|5.3 |4.4 |3.3 |5.3 |4.0 |3.9 |5.1 |3.7 |3.5
Transportation, warehousing, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities...............|7.9 |5.0 |4.2 |5.4 |4.2 |3.9 |6.9 |4.2 |4.3
Information...................|3.4 |5.5 |6.5 |2.3 |2.8 |2.7 |3.3 |2.2 |2.5
Financial activities..........|4.5 |5.0 |5.5 |2.4 |2.3 |2.3 |2.3 |2.2 |2.1
Finance and insurance........|4.5 |4.5 |5.1 |1.9 |1.8 |1.9 |1.7 |1.8 |1.7
Real estate and rental | | | | | | | | |
and leasing.................|4.7 |6.2 |6.6 |3.8 |3.4 |3.4 |3.8 |3.2 |3.0
Professional and business | | | | | | | | |
services.....................|8.2 |6.5 |6.6 |4.8 |4.7 |4.8 |4.8 |4.6 |4.7
Private education and health | | | | | | | | |
services.....................|7.5 |7.0 |7.1 |3.8 |3.4 |3.1 |3.1 |2.9 |2.6
Private educational services.|5.1 |4.3 |3.3 |3.0 |2.6 |2.2 |1.9 |2.2 |2.2
Health care and social | | | | | | | | |
assistance..................|7.9 |7.5 |7.7 |3.9 |3.5 |3.2 |3.3 |3.0 |2.6
Leisure and hospitality......|8.6 |5.6 |6.1 |7.2 |6.4 |6.2 |6.4 |6.0 |5.9
Arts, entertainment, and | | | | | | | | |
recreation.................|7.6 |5.7 |5.7 |7.4 |7.1 |6.6 |6.5 |6.1 |5.5
Accommodation and food | | | | | | | | |
services...................|8.7 |5.6 |6.2 |7.2 |6.2 |6.1 |6.4 |5.9 |5.9
Other services...............|6.2 |5.1 |6.1 |3.7 |3.6 |3.7 |3.6 |3.4 |3.9
Government.....................|4.6 |4.2 |3.8 |2.0 |1.7 |1.6 |1.5 |1.6 |1.4
Federal.......................|5.8 |5.3 |4.7 |1.5 |1.4 |1.4 |1.2 |1.3 |1.0
State and local...............|4.4 |4.0 |3.6 |2.0 |1.8 |1.6 |1.6 |1.6 |1.4
State and local education....|3.0 |2.6 |2.3 |2.1 |1.7 |1.3 |1.5 |1.5 |1.3
State and local, excluding | | | | | | | | |
education...................|5.9 |5.6 |5.0 |2.0 |1.9 |1.9 |1.7 |1.7 |1.6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) Preliminary
NOTE: Data are revised with the release of January data to incorporate the annual updates to the Current
Employment Statistics employment estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors.
Annual Revisions to Job Openings and Labor Turnover Data
The JOLTS data are revised annually to reflect updates to the Current Employment Statistics (CES)
employment estimates. The JOLTS employment levels (not published) are ratio-adjusted to the 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.
Tables B through G below present revised total nonfarm data for January through December 2023. The
December 2023 revisions also reflect the routine incorporation of additional sample receipts into the
final December estimates. Tables presenting revisions to total nonfarm data for January 2019 through
December 2023 will be available on the JOLTS website later in the day following the release. The
website also contains all revised seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data. The revision
tables and data can be accessed through the JOLTS homepage at www.bls.gov/jlt/.
Table B. Revisions in job openings data January 2023 - December 2023,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
| published | | | published | |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2023 | | | | | |
January...| 10,563 | 10,425 | -138 | 6.4 | 6.3 | -0.1
February..| 9,974 | 9,849 | -125 | 6.0 | 6.0 | .0
March.....| 9,745 | 9,623 | -122 | 5.9 | 5.8 | -.1
April.....| 10,320 | 9,904 | -416 | 6.2 | 6.0 | -.2
May.......| 9,616 | 9,311 | -305 | 5.8 | 5.6 | -.2
June......| 9,165 | 9,125 | -40 | 5.5 | 5.5 | .0
July......| 8,920 | 8,805 | -115 | 5.4 | 5.3 | -.1
August....| 9,497 | 9,358 | -139 | 5.7 | 5.6 | -.1
September.| 9,350 | 9,307 | -43 | 5.6 | 5.6 | .0
October...| 8,852 | 8,685 | -167 | 5.3 | 5.2 | -.1
November..| 8,925 | 8,931 | 6 | 5.4 | 5.4 | .0
December..| 9,026 | 8,889 | -137 | 5.4 | 5.3 | -.1
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
Table C. Revisions in hires data January 2023 - December 2023,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
| published | | | published | |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2023 | | | | | |
January...| 6,327 | 6,374 | 47 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 0.0
February..| 6,150 | 6,058 | -92 | 4.0 | 3.9 | -.1
March.....| 6,066 | 5,955 | -111 | 3.9 | 3.8 | -.1
April.....| 6,101 | 5,951 | -150 | 3.9 | 3.8 | -.1
May.......| 6,231 | 6,171 | -60 | 4.0 | 4.0 | .0
June......| 5,940 | 5,895 | -45 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .0
July......| 5,822 | 5,733 | -89 | 3.7 | 3.7 | .0
August....| 5,850 | 5,888 | 38 | 3.7 | 3.8 | .1
September.| 5,904 | 5,851 | -53 | 3.8 | 3.7 | -.1
October...| 5,828 | 5,814 | -14 | 3.7 | 3.7 | .0
November..| 5,554 | 5,569 | 15 | 3.5 | 3.5 | .0
December..| 5,621 | 5,787 | 166 | 3.6 | 3.7 | .1
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
Table D. Revisions in total separations data January 2023 - December 2023,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
| published | | | published | |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2023 | | | | | |
January...| 5,900 | 6,017 | 117 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 0.1
February..| 5,841 | 5,833 | -8 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .0
March.....| 5,994 | 5,917 | -77 | 3.9 | 3.8 | -.1
April.....| 5,660 | 5,569 | -91 | 3.6 | 3.6 | .0
May.......| 5,925 | 5,846 | -79 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .0
June......| 5,691 | 5,639 | -52 | 3.6 | 3.6 | .0
July......| 5,638 | 5,646 | 8 | 3.6 | 3.6 | .0
August....| 5,687 | 5,609 | -78 | 3.6 | 3.6 | .0
September.| 5,595 | 5,522 | -73 | 3.6 | 3.5 | -.1
October...| 5,632 | 5,630 | -2 | 3.6 | 3.6 | .0
November..| 5,401 | 5,413 | 12 | 3.4 | 3.4 | .0
December..| 5,365 | 5,419 | 54 | 3.4 | 3.4 | .0
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
Table E. Revisions in quits data January 2023 - December 2023,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
| published | | | published | |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2023 | | | | | |
January...| 3,878 | 3,882 | 4 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.0
February..| 3,980 | 3,964 | -16 | 2.6 | 2.6 | .0
March.....| 3,842 | 3,809 | -33 | 2.5 | 2.5 | .0
April.....| 3,765 | 3,611 | -154 | 2.4 | 2.3 | -.1
May.......| 4,067 | 4,009 | -58 | 2.6 | 2.6 | .0
June......| 3,802 | 3,716 | -86 | 2.4 | 2.4 | .0
July......| 3,619 | 3,615 | -4 | 2.3 | 2.3 | .0
August....| 3,663 | 3,595 | -68 | 2.3 | 2.3 | .0
September.| 3,646 | 3,596 | -50 | 2.3 | 2.3 | .0
October...| 3,628 | 3,634 | 6 | 2.3 | 2.3 | .0
November..| 3,524 | 3,516 | -8 | 2.2 | 2.2 | .0
December..| 3,392 | 3,439 | 47 | 2.2 | 2.2 | .0
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
Table F. Revisions in layoffs and discharges data January 2023 - December 2023,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
| published | | | published | |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2023 | | | | | |
January...| 1,719 | 1,868 | 149 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.1
February..| 1,557 | 1,571 | 14 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0
March.....| 1,845 | 1,825 | -20 | 1.2 | 1.2 | .0
April.....| 1,590 | 1,636 | 46 | 1.0 | 1.1 | .1
May.......| 1,546 | 1,531 | -15 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0
June......| 1,551 | 1,589 | 38 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0
July......| 1,681 | 1,698 | 17 | 1.1 | 1.1 | .0
August....| 1,682 | 1,664 | -18 | 1.1 | 1.1 | .0
September.| 1,610 | 1,595 | -15 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0
October...| 1,643 | 1,653 | 10 | 1.0 | 1.1 | .1
November..| 1,531 | 1,546 | 15 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0
December..| 1,616 | 1,607 | -9 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
Table G. Revisions in other separations data January 2023 - December 2023,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | previously | revised | Difference | previously | revised | Difference
| published | | | published | |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2023 | | | | | |
January...| 303 | 268 | -35 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0
February..| 304 | 299 | -5 | .2 | .2 | .0
March.....| 306 | 283 | -23 | .2 | .2 | .0
April.....| 305 | 322 | 17 | .2 | .2 | .0
May.......| 313 | 307 | -6 | .2 | .2 | .0
June......| 339 | 334 | -5 | .2 | .2 | .0
July......| 338 | 333 | -5 | .2 | .2 | .0
August....| 342 | 349 | 7 | .2 | .2 | .0
September.| 339 | 331 | -8 | .2 | .2 | .0
October...| 361 | 344 | -17 | .2 | .2 | .0
November..| 346 | 351 | 5 | .2 | .2 | .0
December..| 358 | 373 | 15 | .2 | .2 | .0
__________|____________|_________|____________|____________|_________|___________
United States Department of Labor
