For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Friday, March 13, 2026 USDL-26-0439
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 2026
The number of job openings was little changed at 6.9 million in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Hires were unchanged at 5.3 million, while total separations changed little at
5.1 million. Within separations, quits (3.1 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, by region, and by establishment size class. This release also includes
2025 annual estimates for job openings, hires, and separations. Job openings include all positions that
are open on the last business day of the month. Hires and separations include all changes to the payroll
during the entire month.
Job Openings
The number and rate of job openings were little changed at 6.9 million and 4.2 percent, respectively, in
January. The number of job openings increased in finance and insurance (+184,000). (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|
|2021 forward are subject to revision. |
|___________________________________________________________________________________________________|
Hires
In January, the number and rate of hires were unchanged at 5.3 million and 3.3 percent, respectively.
Hires decreased in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-67,000) and in real estate and rental and
leasing (-20,000). (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 and rate of total separations in January were little changed at 5.1 million and 3.2 percent,
respectively. The number of total separations decreased in transportation, warehousing, and utilities
(-79,000) and in federal government (-10,000). (See table 3.)
In January, the number of quits was little changed at 3.1 million. The quits rate, at 2.0 percent, remained
unchanged. The number of quits increased in private educational services (+16,000). (See table 4.)
In January, the number and rate of layoffs and discharges changed little at 1.6 million and 1.0 percent,
respectively. Layoffs and discharges decreased in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-55,000).
(See table 5.)
The number of other separations changed little at 337,000 in January. (See table 6.)
Establishment Size Class
In January, establishments with 1 to 9 employees and establishments with 5,000 or more employees
showed little or no change in job openings, hires, and separations rates. (See table 7.)
December 2025 Revisions
The number of job openings for December was revised up by 8,000 to 6.6 million, the number of hires
was revised down by 21,000 to 5.3 million, and the number of total separations was revised down by
48,000 to 5.2 million. Within separations, the number of quits was revised up by 21,000 to 3.2 million,
and the number of layoffs and discharges was revised down by 96,000 to 1.7 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 revision process also contributed 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 2025, the annual average job openings level was 7.1 million, a decrease of 571,000 from 2024. The
annual average job openings rate was 4.3 percent in 2025, compared to 4.6 percent in 2024.
(See tables 15 and 16.)
In 2025, the annual hires level was 63.0 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from 2024. Annual total
separations decreased by 251,000 in 2025 to 62.8 million. Annual quits decreased by 1.3 million in 2025
to 38.0 million and accounted for 60.6 percent of total separations. Annual layoffs and discharges
increased by 1.2 million in 2025 to 21.2 million and accounted for 33.8 percent of total separations.
Annual other separations decreased by 224,000 in 2025 to 3.5 million and accounted for 5.6 percent of
total separations. (See tables 17 through 26.)
The annual average hires rate for 2025 was 3.3 percent, down from 3.4 percent in 2024. The annual
average total separations rate for 2025 was 3.3 percent and was unchanged from 2024. The 2025 annual
average rates for the components of total separations were 2.0 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 2026 are scheduled to be
released on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
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 2025. The
December 2025 revisions also reflect the routine incorporation of additional sample receipts into the
final December estimates. Tables presenting revisions to JOLTS estimates for January 2021 through
December 2025 will be available concurrently with the release on the JOLTS website. 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 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.
|2025 |2025 |2026p |2025 |2025 |2026p |2025 |2025 |2026p
--------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | | | | |
LEVELS BY INDUSTRY | | | | | | | | |
(in thousands) | | | | | | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total...........................|7431 |6550 |6946 |5238 |5272 |5294 |5241 |5203 |5105
| | | | | | | | |
Total private..................|6552 |5828 |6198 |4883 |4961 |4976 |4924 |4864 |4773
Mining and logging............|17 |21 |29 |19 |20 |15 |19 |23 |17
Construction..................|232 |245 |231 |332 |326 |349 |347 |317 |322
Manufacturing.................|447 |426 |495 |314 |282 |295 |334 |301 |294
Durable goods................|311 |287 |340 |182 |154 |168 |203 |164 |167
Nondurable goods.............|136 |139 |155 |132 |128 |126 |131 |136 |126
Trade, transportation, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities................|1065 |976 |1131 |1038 |1013 |978 |1021 |1093 |974
Wholesale trade..............|197 |175 |178 |135 |125 |141 |155 |129 |142
Retail trade.................|540 |505 |635 |617 |546 |563 |590 |629 |575
Transportation, warehousing, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities...............|327 |296 |318 |286 |341 |274 |276 |336 |257
Information...................|101 |112 |113 |65 |89 |90 |76 |89 |89
Financial activities..........|506 |237 |406 |209 |211 |168 |194 |202 |185
Finance and insurance........|335 |129 |313 |139 |136 |113 |129 |129 |128
Real estate and | | | | | | | | |
rental and leasing..........|171 |108 |93 |70 |75 |55 |65 |72 |57
Professional and business | | | | | | | | |
services.....................|1253 |1167 |977 |972 |947 |982 |1046 |915 |968
Private education and health | | | | | | | | |
services.....................|1628 |1416 |1539 |822 |835 |838 |755 |751 |702
Private educational services.|153 |157 |129 |85 |91 |90 |84 |74 |75
Health care and social | | | | | | | | |
assistance..................|1475 |1260 |1410 |736 |744 |747 |671 |678 |627
Leisure and hospitality.......|1009 |956 |1041 |867 |1045 |1068 |874 |994 |1027
Arts, entertainment, and | | | | | | | | |
recreation..................|158 |137 |125 |163 |155 |151 |154 |147 |155
Accommodation and food | | | | | | | | |
services....................|851 |818 |916 |704 |890 |917 |720 |847 |872
Other services................|295 |271 |236 |245 |194 |193 |258 |178 |193
Government.....................|879 |722 |748 |356 |311 |318 |317 |340 |333
Federal.......................|131 |94 |95 |32 |25 |28 |32 |58 |48
State and local...............|748 |628 |653 |324 |286 |290 |285 |282 |285
State and local education....|269 |232 |248 |162 |135 |143 |138 |150 |149
State and local, excluding | | | | | | | | |
education...................|479 |396 |405 |162 |151 |148 |146 |132 |136
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | | | | |
RATES BY INDUSTRY | | | | | | | | |
(percent) | | | | | | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total...........................|4.5 |4.0 |4.2 |3.3 |3.3 |3.3 |3.3 |3.3 |3.2
| | | | | | | | |
Total private..................|4.6 |4.1 |4.4 |3.6 |3.7 |3.7 |3.7 |3.6 |3.5
Mining and logging............|2.7 |3.4 |4.5 |3.1 |3.3 |2.6 |3.0 |3.9 |2.9
Construction..................|2.7 |2.9 |2.7 |4.0 |3.9 |4.2 |4.2 |3.8 |3.9
Manufacturing.................|3.4 |3.3 |3.8 |2.5 |2.2 |2.3 |2.6 |2.4 |2.3
Durable goods................|3.8 |3.5 |4.2 |2.3 |2.0 |2.2 |2.6 |2.1 |2.1
Nondurable goods.............|2.8 |2.8 |3.1 |2.7 |2.7 |2.6 |2.7 |2.8 |2.6
Trade, transportation, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities................|3.6 |3.3 |3.8 |3.6 |3.5 |3.4 |3.5 |3.8 |3.4
Wholesale trade..............|3.1 |2.8 |2.9 |2.2 |2.1 |2.3 |2.6 |2.1 |2.4
Retail trade.................|3.4 |3.2 |4.0 |4.0 |3.5 |3.7 |3.8 |4.1 |3.7
Transportation, warehousing, | | | | | | | | |
and utilities...............|4.3 |4.0 |4.3 |3.9 |4.8 |3.8 |3.8 |4.7 |3.6
Information...................|3.4 |3.8 |3.8 |2.2 |3.1 |3.2 |2.7 |3.1 |3.2
Financial activities..........|5.2 |2.5 |4.2 |2.3 |2.3 |1.8 |2.1 |2.2 |2.0
Finance and insurance........|4.7 |1.9 |4.5 |2.1 |2.0 |1.7 |1.9 |1.9 |1.9
Real estate and rental | | | | | | | | |
and leasing.................|6.5 |4.2 |3.7 |2.8 |3.1 |2.3 |2.6 |2.9 |2.4
Professional and business | | | | | | | | |
services.....................|5.3 |5.0 |4.2 |4.3 |4.2 |4.4 |4.7 |4.1 |4.3
Private education and health | | | | | | | | |
services.....................|5.7 |4.9 |5.2 |3.0 |3.0 |3.0 |2.8 |2.7 |2.5
Private educational services.|3.7 |3.7 |3.1 |2.1 |2.3 |2.2 |2.1 |1.8 |1.9
Health care and social | | | | | | | | |
assistance..................|6.0 |5.1 |5.6 |3.2 |3.2 |3.2 |2.9 |2.9 |2.6
Leisure and hospitality......|5.7 |5.3 |5.8 |5.1 |6.2 |6.3 |5.2 |5.9 |6.0
Arts, entertainment, and | | | | | | | | |
recreation.................|5.6 |4.9 |4.5 |6.1 |5.8 |5.7 |5.8 |5.5 |5.8
Accommodation and food | | | | | | | | |
services...................|5.7 |5.4 |6.0 |5.0 |6.2 |6.4 |5.1 |5.9 |6.1
Other services...............|4.7 |4.3 |3.8 |4.1 |3.2 |3.2 |4.3 |3.0 |3.2
Government.....................|3.6 |3.0 |3.1 |1.5 |1.3 |1.4 |1.3 |1.5 |1.4
Federal.......................|4.2 |3.3 |3.4 |1.0 |0.9 |1.0 |1.1 |2.1 |1.8
State and local...............|3.5 |3.0 |3.1 |1.6 |1.4 |1.4 |1.4 |1.4 |1.4
State and local education....|2.4 |2.1 |2.2 |1.5 |1.2 |1.3 |1.3 |1.4 |1.4
State and local, excluding | | | | | | | | |
education...................|4.7 |3.9 |4.0 |1.7 |1.5 |1.5 |1.5 |1.3 |1.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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.
Table B. Revisions in job openings data January 2025 - December 2025,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | revised | previously| Difference | revised | previously| Difference
| | published | | | published |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2025 | | | | | |
January...| 7,431 | 7,762 | -331 | 4.5 | 4.7 | -0.2
February..| 7,242 | 7,480 | -238 | 4.4 | 4.5 | -.1
March.....| 6,952 | 7,200 | -248 | 4.2 | 4.3 | -.1
April.....| 7,098 | 7,395 | -297 | 4.3 | 4.4 | -.1
May.......| 7,310 | 7,712 | -402 | 4.4 | 4.6 | -.2
June......| 7,204 | 7,357 | -153 | 4.3 | 4.4 | -.1
July......| 7,089 | 7,208 | -119 | 4.3 | 4.3 | .0
August....| 6,919 | 7,227 | -308 | 4.2 | 4.3 | -.1
September.| 7,169 | 7,658 | -489 | 4.3 | 4.6 | -.3
October...| 7,170 | 7,449 | -279 | 4.3 | 4.5 | -.2
November..| 6,846 | 6,928 | -82 | 4.1 | 4.2 | -.1
December..| 6,550 | 6,542 | 8 | 4.0 | 3.9 | .1
__________|__________|___________|____________|__________|___________|___________
Table C. Revisions in hires data January 2025 - December 2025,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | revised | previously| Difference | revised | previously| Difference
| | published | | | published |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2025 | | | | | |
January...| 5,238 | 5,371 | -133 | 3.3 | 3.4 | -0.1
February..| 5,236 | 5,370 | -134 | 3.3 | 3.4 | -.1
March.....| 5,333 | 5,404 | -71 | 3.4 | 3.4 | .0
April.....| 5,391 | 5,615 | -224 | 3.4 | 3.5 | -.1
May.......| 5,328 | 5,465 | -137 | 3.4 | 3.4 | .0
June......| 5,327 | 5,267 | 60 | 3.4 | 3.3 | .1
July......| 5,225 | 5,240 | -15 | 3.3 | 3.3 | .0
August....| 5,145 | 5,126 | 19 | 3.2 | 3.2 | .0
September.| 5,244 | 5,367 | -123 | 3.3 | 3.4 | -.1
October...| 5,180 | 5,368 | -188 | 3.3 | 3.4 | -.1
November..| 5,019 | 5,121 | -102 | 3.2 | 3.2 | .0
December..| 5,272 | 5,293 | -21 | 3.3 | 3.3 | .0
__________|__________|___________|____________|__________|___________|___________
Table D. Revisions in total separations data January 2025 - December 2025,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | revised | previously| Difference | revised | previously| Difference
| | published | | | published |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2025 | | | | | |
January...| 5,241 | 5,272 | -31 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 0.0
February..| 5,285 | 5,316 | -31 | 3.3 | 3.3 | .0
March.....| 5,288 | 5,183 | 105 | 3.3 | 3.3 | .0
April.....| 5,270 | 5,313 | -43 | 3.3 | 3.3 | .0
May.......| 5,288 | 5,213 | 75 | 3.3 | 3.3 | .0
June......| 5,432 | 5,341 | 91 | 3.4 | 3.3 | .1
July......| 5,170 | 5,221 | -51 | 3.3 | 3.3 | .0
August....| 5,207 | 5,111 | 96 | 3.3 | 3.2 | .1
September.| 5,161 | 5,264 | -103 | 3.3 | 3.3 | .0
October...| 5,125 | 5,069 | 56 | 3.2 | 3.2 | .0
November..| 5,035 | 5,144 | -109 | 3.2 | 3.2 | .0
December..| 5,203 | 5,251 | -48 | 3.3 | 3.3 | .0
__________|__________|___________|____________|__________|___________|___________
Table E. Revisions in quits data January 2025 - December 2025,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | revised | previously| Difference | revised | previously| Difference
| | published | | | published |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2025 | | | | | |
January...| 3,203 | 3,256 | -53 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0
February..| 3,153 | 3,250 | -97 | 2.0 | 2.0 | .0
March.....| 3,456 | 3,344 | 112 | 2.2 | 2.1 | .1
April.....| 3,144 | 3,215 | -71 | 2.0 | 2.0 | .0
May.......| 3,287 | 3,270 | 17 | 2.1 | 2.0 | .1
June......| 3,254 | 3,209 | 45 | 2.1 | 2.0 | .1
July......| 3,132 | 3,166 | -34 | 2.0 | 2.0 | .0
August....| 3,095 | 3,091 | 4 | 2.0 | 1.9 | .1
September.| 2,990 | 3,128 | -138 | 1.9 | 2.0 | -.1
October...| 2,980 | 2,973 | 7 | 1.9 | 1.9 | .0
November..| 3,119 | 3,193 | -74 | 2.0 | 2.0 | .0
December..| 3,225 | 3,204 | 21 | 2.0 | 2.0 | .0
__________|__________|___________|____________|__________|___________|___________
Table F. Revisions in layoffs and discharges data January 2025 - December 2025,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | revised | previously| Difference | revised | previously| Difference
| | published | | | published |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2025 | | | | | |
January...| 1,738 | 1,674 | 64 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.0
February..| 1,867 | 1,780 | 87 | 1.2 | 1.1 | .1
March.....| 1,595 | 1,590 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0
April.....| 1,818 | 1,789 | 29 | 1.1 | 1.1 | .0
May.......| 1,671 | 1,611 | 60 | 1.1 | 1.0 | .1
June......| 1,843 | 1,796 | 47 | 1.2 | 1.1 | .1
July......| 1,772 | 1,787 | -15 | 1.1 | 1.1 | .0
August....| 1,832 | 1,725 | 107 | 1.2 | 1.1 | .1
September.| 1,816 | 1,781 | 35 | 1.1 | 1.1 | .0
October...| 1,891 | 1,850 | 41 | 1.2 | 1.2 | .0
November..| 1,660 | 1,701 | -41 | 1.0 | 1.1 | -.1
December..| 1,666 | 1,762 | -96 | 1.1 | 1.1 | .0
__________|__________|___________|____________|__________|___________|___________
Table G. Revisions in other separations data January 2025 - December 2025,
seasonally adjusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Levels (in thousands) | Rates (percent)
Year |---------------------------------- |----------------------------------
and | As | As | | As | As |
month | revised | previously| Difference | revised | previously| Difference
| | published | | | published |
_________________________________________________________________________________
2025 | | | | | |
January...| 301 | 342 | -41 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0
February..| 265 | 286 | -21 | .2 | .2 | .0
March.....| 237 | 248 | -11 | .1 | .2 | -0.1
April.....| 307 | 309 | -2 | .2 | .2 | .0
May.......| 331 | 332 | -1 | .2 | .2 | .0
June......| 335 | 335 | 0 | .2 | .2 | .0
July......| 266 | 269 | -3 | .2 | .2 | .0
August....| 280 | 295 | -15 | .2 | .2 | .0
September.| 356 | 354 | 2 | .2 | .2 | .0
October...| 255 | 246 | 9 | .2 | .2 | .0
November..| 256 | 249 | 7 | .2 | .2 | .0
December..| 312 | 285 | 27 | .2 | .2 | .0
__________|__________|___________|____________|__________|___________|___________
United States Department of Labor
