For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, January 4, 2023 USDL-23-0001
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 – NOVEMBER 2022
The number of job openings was little changed at 10.5 million on the last business day of November, the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, the number of hires and total
separations changed little at 6.1 million and 5.9 million, respectively. Within separations, quits
(4.2 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.4 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.
Job Openings
On the last business day of November, the number of job openings changed little at 10.5 million. The
rate was unchanged at 6.4 percent but was 0.9 percentage points lower than its peak in March 2022. In
November, job openings increased in professional and business services (+212,000) and in nondurable
goods manufacturing (+39,000). The number of job openings decreased in finance and insurance
(-75,000) and in federal government (-44,000). (See table 1.)
Hires
In November, the number and rate of hires changed little at 6.1 million and 3.9 percent, respectively.
Hires increased in health care and social assistance (+74,000). (See table 2.)
Separations
Total separations includes 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 includes separations due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers
to other locations of the same firm.
In November, the number of total separations changed little at 5.9 million, and the rate held at 3.8
percent. The number of total separations increased in health care and social assistance (+99,000) and in
transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+76,000). (See table 3.)
In November, the number and rate of quits were little changed at 4.2 million and 2.7 percent,
respectively. Quits increased in health care and social assistance (+82,000); transportation, warehousing,
and utilities (+73,000); and information (+19,000). (See table 4.)
In November, the number of layoffs and discharges changed little at 1.4 million, and the rate remained
at 0.9 percent. Layoffs and discharges increased in finance and insurance (+19,000). (See table 5.)
The number of other separations increased in November to 347,000 (+83,000). Other separations
increased in professional and business services (+49,000). (See table 6.)
Establishment Size Class
In November, the total separations rate increased in establishments with 50 to 249 employees. The quits
rate increased in establishments with 1 to 9 employees. For a more in-depth description of the JOLTS
establishment size class estimates, please visit www.bls.gov/jlt/sizeclassmethodology.htm.
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The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for December 2022 are scheduled to be
released on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
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|Upcoming Changes to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Data |
| |
|Effective with the release of January 2023 data on March 8, 2023, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover |
|Survey (JOLTS) estimates will be revised to 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 2018 forward are subject to revision. In accordance with annual |
|practice, additional historical data may be revised as a result of the benchmark process. Also effective |
|with this release, JOLTS is adopting the 2022 version of the North American Industry Classification |
|System (NAICS), which has a minimal impact on the published JOLTS data series. For more |
|information on the 2022 NAICS, visit www.census.gov/naics. |
| |
|Also effective with the release of January data, JOLTS will begin publishing two new tables presenting |
|annual average job openings levels and rates. (Annual estimates of levels and rates are published each |
|year with January data.) In addition, JOLTS will modify its method for calculating annual estimates for |
|hires and separations rates. Annual rates will be computed as annual averages, instead of annual totals, |
|to make the estimates more helpful for data users and to be consistent with other Bureau of Labor |
|Statistics programs. |
| |
|JOLTS will introduce several changes to the monthly news release tables beginning with the news |
|release for January data. Two tables displaying JOLTS data by size class will be added to the news |
|release: one for seasonally adjusted estimates and the other for not seasonally adjusted estimates. JOLTS|
|will also introduce over-the-month change columns for levels and rates to tables 1 through 6. To |
|accommodate the new tables, tables starting with table 7 will be renumbered. |
| |
|Additional information about these changes, including the annual average calculation method and |
|sample table shells for all news release tables, is available at www.bls.gov/jlt/jolts-2023-changes.htm. |
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United States Department of Labor
