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Article
June 2022

Job openings and quits reach record highs in 2021, layoffs and discharges fall to record lows

Estimates from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) highlighted large increases in job openings and quits throughout 2021. Job openings reached a series high in December 2021 of 11.4 million, and quits reached a series high in November of 4.5 million. By contrast, layoffs and discharges trended lower throughout 2021, reaching a series low of 1.3 million in December. The series lows followed the large increase in layoffs and discharges that occurred at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when this measure reached a series high of 13.0 million in March 2020. The movement in these JOLTS estimates signaled a stronger demand for labor in 2021, following the February–April 2020 pandemic-induced recession.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) estimates showed large increases in job openings and quits throughout 2021, despite the surge of two coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) variants, Delta in the summer and Omicron at the end of the year. Layoffs and discharges declined throughout the year and reached a series low at the end of 2021. This article reviews the JOLTS estimates for 2021 at the total nonfarm, industry, and regional levels.1 (For definitions of JOLTS terms, see the box that follows.)

Definitions of JOLTS terms

Job openings

Job openings include all positions that are open on the last business day of the reference month. A job is open only if it meets the following three conditions: (1) a specific position exists and there is work available for that position; the position can be full time or part time, and it can be permanent, short term, or seasonal; (2) the job could start within 30 days, whether or not the employer can find a suitable candidate during that time; and (3) the employer is actively recruiting workers from outside the establishment to fill the position; active recruiting means that the establishment is taking steps to fill a position and may include advertising in newspapers, on television, or on the radio; posting Internet notices, posting “help wanted” signs, networking or making “word-of-mouth” announcements; accepting applications; interviewing candidates; contacting employment agencies; or soliciting employees at job fairs, state or local employment offices, or similar sources.

Excluded are positions open only to internal transfers, promotions or demotions, or recalls from layoffs. Also excluded are openings for positions with start dates more than 30 days in the future; positions for which employees have been hired but not yet reported for work; and positions to be filled by employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, outside contractors, or consultants.

Hires

Hires include all additions to the payroll during the entire reference month, including newly hired and rehired employees; full-time and part-time employees; permanent, short-term, and seasonal employees; employees who were recalled to a job at the location following a layoff (formal suspension from pay status) lasting more than 7 days; on-call or intermittent employees who returned to work after having been formally separated; workers who were hired and separated during the month; and transfers from other locations.

Excluded are transfers or promotions within the reporting location; employees returning from a strike; and employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, outside contractors, or consultants.

Separations

Separations include all separations from the payroll during the entire reference month and are reported by type of separation: quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Quits include employees who left voluntarily, except for retirements or transfers to other locations. Layoffs and discharges include involuntary separations initiated by the employer, including layoffs with no intent to rehire; layoffs (formal suspensions from pay status) lasting or expected to last more than 7 days; discharges resulting from mergers, downsizing, or closings; firings or other discharges for cause; terminations of permanent or short-term employees; and terminations of seasonal employees (whether or not they are expected to return the next season). Other separations include retirements, transfers to other locations, separations due to employee disability, and deaths.

Excluded are transfers within the same location; employees on strike; and employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, outside contractors, or consultants.

Job openings

The job openings level is an indicator for the demand for labor between employers and potential employees. An increase in job openings signals that employers are in need of additional employees. This signal is further confirmed by the relationship between job openings and employment, as the two measures tend to increase and decrease together. The job openings level can also be a sign of shifts in the economy and often increases when approaching an economic expansion or decreases when approaching an economic contraction.2  

Over-the-month estimates show that job openings continued to increase throughout 2021 after the large decline in the spring of 2020 as a result of the February–April 2020 economic recession.3 From December 2020 to December 2021, job openings increased by 67.0 percent to a not seasonally adjusted level of 10.4 million.4 (See table 1.)

 Table 1. Change in level and percentage of job openings, by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, December 2019–December 2021 (levels in thousands)
Industry and regionLevel by month and yearChange, December 2019–December 2021Change, December 2019–December 2021
 December 2019 December 2020 December 2021LevelPercentLevelPercent

Total nonfarm

6,0606,20410,3531442.44,14966.9

Industry

Total private

5346555793132113.93,75667.6

Mining and logging

111331218.218138.5

Construction

20821130131.49042.7

Manufacturing

3534437259025.528263.7

Durable goods

2112614135023.715258.2

Nondurable goods

1431833134028.013071.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,0731,1201,755474.463556.7

Wholesale trade

169164256-5-3.09256.1

Retail trade

640665916253.925137.7

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

2642915832710.2292100.3

Information

136119242-17-12.5123103.4

Financial activities

316275448-41-13.017362.9

Finance and insurance

229218334-11-4.811653.2

Real estate and rental and leasing

8857114-31-35.257100.0

Professional and business services

1,0561,3561,86330028.450737.4

Education and health services

1,1881,2172,083292.486671.2

Educational services

10375197-28-27.2122162.7

Healthcare and social assistance

1,0851,1421,886575.374465.1

Leisure and hospitality

7486091,516-139-18.6907148.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

10850144-58-53.794188.0

Accommodation and food services

6405591,371-81-12.7812145.3

Other services

256192350-64-25.015882.3

Government

7146471,040-67-9.439360.7

Federal

858715322.46675.9

State and local

629561887-68-10.832658.1

Education

220194320-26-11.812664.9

Excluding education

409367567-42-10.320054.5

Region

Northeast

1,0641,0271,817-37-3.579076.9

South

22722,4913,8992199.61,40856.5

Midwest

1,2581,3332,264756.093169.8

West

1,4671,3532,374-114-7.81,02175.5

Note: Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job openings by industry

During 2021, the monthly job openings level for 16 of 19 industries reached an all-time series high. The three industries with the most job openings were professional and business services, at 2.0 million in October; healthcare and social assistance, at 2.0 million in December; and accommodation and food services, at 1.8 million in December. (See table 2.)

 Table 2. Monthly series highs by industry and region, seasonally adjusted, 2021 (in thousands)
Data elementIndustry and regionMonthLevel

Industry

Job openings

Durable goodsSeptember560

Job openings

Nondurable goodsOctober394

Job openings

Wholesale tradeOctober345

Job openings

Retail tradeAugust1,177

Job openings

Transportation, warehousing, and utilitiesDecember611

Job openings

InformationDecember232

Job openings

Finance and insuranceNovember372

Job openings

Real estate and rental and leasingJuly192

Job openings

Professional and business servicesOctober2,043

Job openings

Educational servicesDecember217

Job openings

Healthcare and social assistanceDecember1,970

Job openings

Arts, entertainment, and recreationJuly257

Job openings

Accommodation and food servicesDecember1,785

Job openings

Other servicesMay466

Job openings

State and local government educationDecember361

Job openings

State and local government, excluding educationSeptember580

Hires

Finance and insuranceSeptember224

Hires

Professional and business servicesJuly1,325

Hires

Educational servicesJanuary125

Hires

State and local government educationJune211

Quits

Durable goodsNovember185

Quits

Wholesale tradeAugust145

Quits

Retail tradeDecember786

Quits

Transportation, warehousing, and utilitiesApril200

Quits

Professional and business servicesNovember834

Quits

Healthcare and social assistanceNovember626

Quits

Accommodation and food servicesNovember813

Quits

State and local government, excluding educationNovember119

Other separations

Finance and insuranceSeptember65

Other separations

Professional and business servicesJune118

Region

Job openings

NortheastDecember1,923

Job openings

SouthDecember4,330

Job openings

MidwestDecember2,530

Job openings

WestDecember2,664

Quits

NortheastNovember608

Quits

SouthNovember1,883

Quits

MidwestNovember1,008

Quits

WestNovember1,010

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job openings increased over the year from December 2020 to December 2021 in all 19 JOLTS industrial supersectors and total nonfarm. The largest over-the-year increases in job openings occurred in arts, entertainment, and recreation (+188.0 percent); educational services (+162.7 percent); and accommodation and food services (+145.3 percent).

Job openings by region

All four census regions reached series highs for job openings in December 2021. The Northeast series high was 2.0 million, the South was 4.3 million, the Midwest was 2.5 million, and the West was 2.7 million. (See table 2.) Comparing December 2020 and December 2021, job openings increased less in the South (+56.5 percent) than in the Midwest (+69.8 percent), the West (+75.5 percent), and the Northeast (+76.9 percent). (See table 1.)

Job openings and unemployment

One way to evaluate the number of job openings is to compare it with the number of unemployed people, published by the Current Population Survey. These measures tend to move in opposite directions. This relationship can be explored by dividing the number of unemployed by the number of job openings. This creates a measure referred to as the number of unemployed people per job openings ratio. If the resulting ratio is high, it indicates a high level of unemployed and a low level of job openings. The relationship between unemployed people and job openings is a useful comparison and can often signal times of economic expansion or contraction.

At the beginning of 2021, the unemployed people per job openings ratio was 1.4, continuing a decline that started after the recent high of 4.9 in April 2020. The ratio continued to steadily decline, falling to 1.0 in April 2021. The ratio remained unchanged until July before resuming the downward trend. Unemployed people per job opening fell to the lowest ratio in the history of the JOLTS series at 0.6 in November and December. The decline in the ratio reflects both the increase in job openings throughout the year and a decrease in the number of unemployed. (See chart 1.)

Hires

The total number of annual hires increased to a level of 75.6 million in 2021 (+4.0 percent), compared with 2019, during which the annual hires level increased to 72.6 million (+3.9 percent). The increase in 2021 marked the 12th consecutive year in which the annual hires level increased. (See table 3.)

 Table 3. Change in level and percentage of annual hires, by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, 2019–21 (levels in thousands)
Industry and regionLevel by yearChange, 2019–20Change, 2020–21
201920202021LevelPercentLevelPercent

Total

69,91172,63575,5502,7243.92,9154.0

Industry

Total private

65,50568,45171,1642,9464.52,7134.0

Mining and logging

304199237-105-34.53819.1

Construction

4,9944,9844,357-10-0.2-627-12.6

Manufacturing

4,0524,8105,27175818.74619.6

Durable goods

2,2712,7502,93747921.11876.8

Nondurable goods

1,7802,0612,33528115.827413.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

13,88915,43616,1181,54711.16824.4

Wholesale trade

1,7761,8152,053392.223813.1

Retail trade

9,0119,82210,3918119.05695.8

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

3,0993,7993,67370022.6-126-3.3

Information

1,1359781,304-157-13.832633.3

Financial activities

2,6532,6602,65970.3-10.0

Finance and insurance

1,6831,6671,762-16-1.0955.7

Real estate and rental and leasing

971994897232.4-97-9.8

Professional and business services

13,78513,41914,771-366-2.71,35210.1

Education and health services

8,6509,3659,3747158.390.1

Educational services

1,1601,1331,241-27-2.31089.5

Healthcare and social assistance

7,4948,2328,1327389.8-100-1.2

Leisure and hospitality

13,43213,56514,2271331.06624.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

1,9981,6401,960-358-17.932019.5

Accommodation and food services

11,43411,92512,2674914.33422.9

Other services

2,6053,0332,84942816.4-184-6.1

Government

4,4034,1854,385-218-5.02004.8

Federal

50388752238476.3-365-41.1

State and local

3,9043,2973,860-607-15.556317.1

Education

2,0131,6472,075-366-18.242826.0

Excluding education

1,8901,6491,787-241-12.81388.4

Region

Northeast

10,85311,65311,3668007.4-287-2.5

South

28,24728,00330,619-244-0.92,6169.3

Midwest

14,87815,81016,4799326.36694.2

West

15,93017,16817,0841,2387.8-84-0.5

Note: Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Hires by industry

Annual hires increased in 13 of 19 industry supersectors and in total nonfarm in 2021 and decreased in 6 industries. The largest percentage increases in the annual hires levels were in information (+33.3 percent); state and local government education (+26.0 percent); and arts, entertainment, and recreation (+19.5 percent). The largest percentage decreases in hires occurred in federal government (−41.1 percent),5 construction (−12.6 percent), and real estate and rental and leasing (−9.8 percent). (See table 3.) Seven industries experienced annual series highs for the level of hires in 2021. Hires in professional and business services peaked at 14.8 million, accommodation and food services peaked at 12.3 million, and retail trade peaked at 10.4 million. (See table 4.)

 Table 4. Annual series highs, by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, 2021 (in thousands)
Data elementIndustry and regionLevel

Industry

Hires

Durable goods2,937

Hires

Nondurable goods2,335

Hires

Retail trade10,391

Hires

Professional and business services14,771

Hires

Educational services1,241

Hires

Accommodation and food services12,267

Hires

State and local government education2,075

Quits

Durable goods1,885

Quits

Nondurable goods1,572

Quits

Wholesale trade1,334

Quits

Retail trade7,792

Quits

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities2,077

Quits

Professional and business services8,597

Quits

Healthcare and social assistance6,115

Quits

Accommodation and food services8,574

Quits

State and local government, excluding education1,101

Other separations

Finance and insurance346

Region

Hires

South30,619

Hires

Midwest16,479

Quits

Northeast6,387

Quits

South20,192

Quits

Midwest10,541

Quits

West10,708

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As the nation’s economy continued to recover from the 2020 recession, four industries experienced seasonally adjusted monthly series highs in hires in 2021. The four industries were professional and business services (1.3 million in July), finance and insurance (224,000 in September), state and local government education (211,000 in June), and educational services (125,000 in January). (See table 2.)

Hires by region

In percentage terms, annual hires increased in 2021 by 9.3 percent in the South and by 4.2 percent in the Midwest, while hires in the Northeast and West declined by 2.5 and 0.5 percent, respectively. This differs from the pattern of regional hires in 2020, when the West had the greatest percentage increase in annual hires of 7.8 percent. This was followed by the Northeast (+7.4 percent) and the Midwest (+6.3 percent). The South (-0.9 percent) declined in 2020. (See table 3.). None of the regions experienced monthly series highs for hires.

Hires and job openings

In January 2021, job openings reached a level of 7.2 million, following increases after the February–April 2020 recession. Job openings continued to increase throughout 2021, reaching a series high in December 2021 of 11.4 million. While hires trended in a similar direction as job openings, the increases were less dramatic. Given the larger increases in job openings compared with hires, the difference between the two data elements reached its largest amount ever in the JOLTS series history, at 5.0 million in December. (See chart 2.)

Total separations

After annual total separations rose to an all-time JOLTS series high in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, figures in 2021 more closely resembled previous years. Total separations remained consistent as 2021 progressed, with the lowest level recorded in January (5.2 million) and the highest level recorded in November (6.2 million). Compared with 2020, annual total separations in 2021 fell from 80.8 million to 69.0 million, a decrease of 14.5 percent. However, the annual level for 2021 is still 1.4 percent higher than the level of 68.1 million in 2019. (See table 5.)

 Table 5. Change in level and percentage of annual total separations, by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, 2019–21 (levels in thousands)
Industry and regionLevel by yearChange, 2019–20Change, 2020–21
201920202021LevelPercentLevelPercent

Total

68,09780,77869,04512,68118.6-11,733-14.5

Industry

Total private

63,85275,64265,05511,79018.5-10,587-14.0

Mining and logging

352332205-20-5.7-127-38.3

Construction

4,8704,9704,2161002.1-754-15.2

Manufacturing

4,0465,3784,9231,33232.9-455-8.5

Durable goods

2,2963,1582,71386237.5-445-14.1

Nondurable goods

1,7482,2192,20947126.9-10-0.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

13,72216,10815,0962,38617.4-1,012-6.3

Wholesale trade

1,7422,1051,90436320.8-201-9.5

Retail trade

9,12410,3459,9451,22113.4-400-3.9

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

2,8543,6543,24980028.0-405-11.1

Information

1,1011,1721,101716.4-71-6.1

Financial activities

2,4912,7292,5052389.6-224-8.2

Finance and insurance

1,5841,6361,716523.3804.9

Real estate and rental and leasing

9091,09178818220.0-303-27.8

Professional and business services

13,51213,93113,6444193.1-287-2.1

Education and health services

8,06810,3648,8232,29628.5-1,541-14.9

Educational services

1,1171,46691534931.2-551-37.6

Healthcare and social assistance

6,9518,8977,9081,94628.0-989-11.1

Leisure and hospitality

13,14617,07111,9683,92529.9-5,103-29.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

1,9602,2621,51030215.4-752-33.2

Accommodation and food services

11,18714,80710,4583,62032.4-4,349-29.4

Other services

2,5433,5882,5731,04541.1-1,015-28.3

Government

4,2455,1383,99189321.0-1,147-22.3

Federal

46982554435675.9-281-34.1

State and local

3,7744,3123,44453814.3-868-20.1

Education

1,9592,4341,62247524.2-812-33.4

Excluding education

1,8161,8791,822633.5-57-3.0

Region

Northeast

10,40513,49710,0403,09229.7-3,457-25.6

South

27,04630,20028,4293,15411.7-1,771-5.9

Midwest

14,42017,95615,1153,53624.5-2,841-15.8

West

16,22319,12915,4622,90617.9-3,667-19.2

Note: Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Total separations include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Each of these data elements has its own unique trend and cyclical movements. Quits are procyclical, which means that the number of quits typically rises when the economy expands and declines when the economy contracts.

In 2021, quits reached new series highs for both monthly and annual levels. The first new series high was recorded in March 2021 with 3.7 million quits, and that level continued to trend upward, reaching a peak of 4.5 million in November. The annual total of 47.8 million surpassed the annual level for 2020 of 35.9 million by 33 percent and is a new series high. The previous series high of 42.2 million quits was set in 2019.

Layoffs and discharges are countercyclical, which means that the estimates typically rise during economic contractions and fall during economic expansions. Layoffs and discharges levels reached historic lows in 2021. After recording the first new series low of 1.5 million in March, the level continued to trend downward, and reached its bottom in December with 1.3 million. The annual total of 17.0 million is a new series low and contrasts greatly with the series high of 40.8 million recorded in 2020. The previous series low was in 2013 at 21.0 million, and layoffs and discharges levels rose every year from 2016 through 2020.

In 2021, monthly other separations—which include retirements and transfers—increased as the year progressed. The lowest monthly level was recorded in January, at 278,000, matching the series low set in May 2009. The largest monthly level came in June, at 397,000. The annual total of 4.2 million marks the third consecutive year that annual other separations have increased and is the highest annual level since the 4.4 million recorded in 2016.

Chart 3 shows the relationship of the three components of total separations by displaying the percentage of total separations attributed to each type of separation. Quits as a percentage of total separations increased to 69.3 percent in 2021, the highest share ever recorded. Layoffs and discharges as a percentage of total separations decreased to 24.6 percent in 2021, the lowest share ever recorded. Other separations as a percentage of total separations increased to 6.1 percent in 2021 after a series low of 5.1 percent in 2020.

The number of annual quits rose considerably, from 35.9 million in 2020 to 47.8 million in 2021, for an increase of 33 percent. (See table 6.) The annual quits level has increased in 11 of the past 12 years, with 2020 being the only exception in that span. Annual layoffs and discharges fell notably, from 40.8 million in 2020 to 17.0 million in 2021, for a decrease of 58.3 percent. (See table 7.) The annual level of other separations rose, from 4.1 million in 2020 to 4.2 million in 2021, for an increase of 2.3 percent. (See table 8.)

 Table 6. Change in level and percentage of annual quits, by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, 2019–21 (levels in thousands)
Industry and regionLevel by yearChange, 2019–20Change, 2020–21
201920202021LevelPercentLevelPercent

Total

42,19335,87047,825-6,323-15.011,95533.3

Industry

Total private

39,95133,53545,456-6,416-16.111,92135.5

Mining and logging

179106117-73-40.81110.4

Construction

2,0831,5972,198-486-23.360137.6

Manufacturing

2,4922,3473,457-145-5.81,11047.3

Durable goods

1,3961,2741,885-122-8.761148.0

Nondurable goods

1,0921,0701,572-22-2.050246.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

8,9168,31311,204-603-6.82,89134.8

Wholesale trade

1,0291,0021,334-27-2.633233.1

Retail trade

6,2365,6507,792-586-9.42,14237.9

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

1,6501,6612,077110.741625.0

Information

553444626-109-19.718241.0

Financial activities

1,5461,3141,565-232-15.025119.1

Finance and insurance

1,0049031,045-101-10.114215.7

Real estate and rental and leasing

544410522-134-24.611227.3

Professional and business services

7,7686,6398,597-1,129-14.51,95829.5

Education and health services

5,5375,3706,728-167-3.01,35825.3

Educational services

648486613-162-25.012726.1

Healthcare and social assistance

4,8884,8826,115-6-0.11,23325.3

Leisure and hospitality

9,2426,3619,413-2,881-31.23,05248.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

941538843-403-42.830556.7

Accommodation and food services

8,3015,8248,574-2,477-29.82,75047.2

Other services

1,6341,0461,552-588-36.050648.4

Government

2,2432,3372,372944.2351.5

Federal

2092362602712.92410.2

State and local

2,0332,1012,109683.380.4

Education

1,1081,1911,009837.5-182-15.3

Excluding education

9279091,101-18-1.919221.1

Region

Northeast

5,7064,7976,387-909-15.91,59033.1

South

17,27315,21320,192-2,060-11.94,97932.7

Midwest

9,1998,00510,541-1,194-13.02,53631.7

West

10,0137,85610,708-2,157-21.52,85236.3

Note: Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 Table 7. Change in level and percentage of annual layoffs and discharges by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, 2019–21 (levels in thousands)
Industry and regionLevelChange, 2019–20Change, 2020–21
201920202021LevelPercentLevelPercent

Total

21,89340,80117,01918,90886.4-23782-58.3

Industry

Total private

20,63938,91116,1371827288.5-22774-58.5

Mining and logging

154206735233.8-133-64.6

Construction

2,5873,2211,86363424.5-1358-42.2

Manufacturing

1,3112,7541,1831443110.1-1571-57.0

Durable goods

7481,721646973130.1-1075-62.5

Nondurable goods

5631,03253646983.3-496-48.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

4,0587,1623,238310476.5-3924-54.8

Wholesale trade

6111,02947241868.4-557-54.1

Retail trade

2,4214,3681,781194780.4-2587-59.2

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

1,0271,76298773571.6-775-44.0

Information

46466236719842.7-295-44.6

Financial activities

6401,11053747073.4-573-51.6

Finance and insurance

31949432817554.9-166-33.6

Real estate and rental and leasing

31761421129793.7-403-65.6

Professional and business services

5,0456,4664,170142128.2-2296-35.5

Education and health services

2,0374,4731,6022436119.6-2871-64.2

Educational services

404925246521129.0-679-73.4

Healthcare and social assistance

1,6353,5491,3571914117.1-2192-61.8

Leisure and hospitality

3,57010,4122,2196842191.7-8193-78.7

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

9821,69362871172.4-1065-62.9

Accommodation and food services

2,5878,7191,5906132237.0-7129-81.8

Other services

7672,4438851676218.5-1558-63.8

Government

1,2571,89288263550.5-1010-53.4

Federal

121436121315260.3-315-72.2

State and local

1,1371,45575931828.0-696-47.8

Education

55682137326547.7-448-54.6

Excluding education

579631385529.0-246-39.0

Region

Northeast

3,9778,0452,9504068102.3-5095-63.3

South

8,26413,4726,611520863.0-6861-50.9

Midwest

4,4269,0893,6884663105.4-5401-59.4

West

5,23010,1953,770496594.9-6425-63.0

Note: Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 Table 8. Change in level and percentage of annual other separations, by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted, 2019–21 (levels in thousands)
Industry and regionLevelChange, 2019–20Change, 2020–21
201920202021LevelPercentLevelPercent

Total

4,0064,1054,199992.5942.3

Industry

Total private

3,2633,1943,462-69-2.12688.4

Mining and logging

171916211.8-3-15.8

Construction

202153158-49-24.353.3

Manufacturing

2442782833413.951.8

Durable goods

152165182138.61710.3

Nondurable goods

891141022528.1-12-10.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

748632657-116-15.5254.0

Wholesale trade

1017698-25-24.82228.9

Retail trade

467325374-142-30.44915.1

Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

1772321845531.1-48-20.7

Information

8566110-19-22.44466.7

Financial activities

30330840051.79229.9

Finance and insurance

260240346-20-7.710644.2

Real estate and rental and leasing

4468552454.5-13-19.1

Professional and business services

69982787712818.3506.0

Education and health services

494522493285.7-29-5.6

Educational services

645559-9-14.147.3

Healthcare and social assistance

427466433399.1-33-7.1

Leisure and hospitality

333296336-37-11.14013.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

362841-8-22.21346.4

Accommodation and food services

295263298-32-10.83513.3

Other services

14398136-45-31.53838.8

Government

74391073516722.5-175-19.2

Federal

139151163128.6127.9

State and local

60375657515325.4-181-23.9

Education

29442024112642.9-179-42.6

Excluding education

309337336289.1-1-0.3

Region

Northeast

723645698-78-10.8538.2

South

1,5071,5251,636181.21117.3

Midwest

796861888658.2273.1

West

9821,073981919.3-92-8.6

Note: Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Components of separations by industry

Separations are the total number of employees separated from their employer at any time during the reference month. Separations consist of quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. This section discusses what happened in 2021 with the components of separations by industry.

Quits

Quits include employees who left their job voluntarily, excluding retirements or transfers to other locations. In 2021, the number of annual quits grew in 18 of 19 industries, while the remaining industry had fewer quits. The largest percentage increases in annual quits levels were in arts, entertainment, and recreation (+56.7 percent), followed by other services (+48.4 percent) and durable goods manufacturing (+48.0 percent). The only decrease in annual quits levels was in state and local government education (−15.3 percent), which had set a series high in 2020. (See table 6.)

Nine of 19 industries reached a series high for the annual level of quits. Among these industries, highs occurred in professional and business services and in accommodation and food services (8.6 million each), and in retail trade (7.8 million). (See table 4.). In addition, 8 of 19 industries reached monthly seasonally adjusted series highs for quits in 2021. (See table 2.).

Layoffs and discharges

Layoffs and discharges includes involuntary separations initiated by the employer, including layoffs with no intent to rehire. In 2021, annual layoffs and discharges decreased in all 19 industries from the COVID-19-induced spikes in 2020. The largest percentage decreases in annual layoffs and discharges were in accommodation and food services (−81.8 percent), educational services (−73.4 percent), and federal government (−72.2 percent). The industries with the lowest percentage decreases in annual layoffs and discharges were in finance and insurance (−33.6 percent), professional and business services (−35.5 percent), and state and local government, excluding education (−39.0 percent). (See table 7.)

During 2021, seven industries reached a series low for monthly layoffs and discharges. These industries include real estate and rental and leasing, at 6,000 in June; wholesale trade, at 20,000 in December; and state and local government education, at 21,000 in January. (See table 9.)

 Table 9. Monthly series lows, by industry and region, seasonally adjusted, 2021 (in thousands)
Data elementIndustry and regionMonthLevel

Industry

Total separations

State and local government educationJanuary77

Layoffs and discharges

ConstructionSeptember108

Layoffs and discharges

Durable goodsFebruary39

Layoffs and discharges

WholesaleDecember20

Layoffs and discharges

Retail tradeDecember102

Layoffs and discharges

Real estate and rental and leasingJune6

Layoffs and discharges

Accommodation and food servicesDecember104

Layoffs and discharges

State and local government educationJanuary21

Region

Layoffs and discharges

NortheastDecember156

Layoffs and discharges

SouthApril502

Layoffs and discharges

MidwestNovember244

Layoffs and discharges

WestSeptember273

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Other separations

In 2021, annual other separations increased in 12 of 19 industries, with 7 industries having fewer annual other separations than in the previous year. The largest percentage increases in annual other separations were in information (+66.7 percent); arts, entertainment, and recreation (+46.4 percent); and finance and insurance (+44.2 percent). The industries with the largest percentage declines in annual other separations were in state and local government education (−42.6 percent); transportation, warehousing, and utilities (−20.7 percent); and real estate and rental and leasing (−19.1 percent). (See table 8.) One of the 19 industries reached a series high for the annual level of other separations: finance and insurance at 346,000. (See table 4.) There were two monthly seasonally adjusted series highs in other separations: professional and business services at 118,000 in June, and finance and insurance at 65,000 in September. (See table 2.)

Components of separations by region

This section describes the differences between the components of separations among the four census regions in 2021.

Northeast region

In 2021, the Northeast had an annual level of 10.0 million total separations, a decrease of 25.6 percent compared to 2020, and the largest decrease of all the regions. The Northeast quits level increased to a new series high of 6.4 million (+33.1 percent) but remained the lowest level regionally. For layoffs and discharges, the Northeast notably fell to 3.0 million, the largest percentage (−63.3 percent) decrease of the four regions. The Northeast other separations level rose to 698,000, the largest percentage (+8.2 percent) increase regionally.

South region

In the South, the annual level of total separations fell to 28.4 million, the smallest percentage (−5.9 percent) decrease regionally. Within total separations, the quits level rose to a new series high of 20.2 million for the South, an increase of 32.7 percent. The South layoffs and discharges level fell to 6.6 million, the lowest percentage decrease (−50.9 percent) of the regions, and the other separations level rose to 1.6 million, an increase of 7.3 percent compared to 2020.

Midwest region

In the Midwest, the annual total separations level fell to 15.1 million (−15.8 percent). Within total separations, there were 10.5 million (+31.7 percent) quits in the Midwest, a new series high. There were 3.7 million (−59.4 percent) layoffs and discharges, and other separations rose to 888,000 (+3.1 percent).

West region

In 2021, the West annual total separations level decreased to 15.5 million (−19.2 percent). Within total separations in the West, the quits level rose to 10.7 million, the largest percentage (+36.3 percent) increase among the regions and a new series high. The layoffs and discharges level fell to 3.8 million (−63.0 percent) and the other separations level fell to 981,000. (See tables 5, 6, 7, and 8.)

Separations for the regions

All regions reached series highs for annual quits in 2021. (See table 4.) In addition, all regions saw monthly series highs for quits in November 2021. The Northeast quits level reached a monthly series high of 608,000, the South quits level reached a monthly series high of 1.9 million, and the Midwest and West both reached a monthly series high of 1.0 million. None of the four regions reached monthly series highs for total separations, layoffs and discharges, or other separations. (See tables 2 and 4.)

All regions saw new series lows for annual layoffs and discharges. In addition, all regions reached monthly series lows for layoffs and discharges in 2021. The Northeast layoffs and discharges level reached a series low of 156,000 in December, the South reached a series low of 502,000 in April, the Midwest reached a series low of 244,000 in November, and the West reached a series low of 273,000 in both June and September. None of the four regions reached a series low in total separations, quits, or other separations. (See table 9.)

An analysis of each region by quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations as percentages of total separations illustrates the different characteristics of the JOLTS estimates at the regional level. The Northeast had the smallest percentage of quits within total separations, at 63.6 percent in 2021. The South experienced the highest percentage of quits, at 71.0 percent. In 2021, the Northeast had the largest percentage of layoffs and discharges, at 29.4 percent. The South had the lowest percentage of layoffs and discharges, at 23.3 percent. The Northeast had the highest percentage of other separations, at 7.0 percent, while the South had the lowest percentage, at 5.8 percent. (See chart 4.)

Quits compared with layoffs and discharges

As 2021 progressed, the difference between quits and layoffs and discharges continued to grow. In March, quits exceeded layoffs and discharges by 2.2 million. As 2021 continued and quits kept increasing while layoffs and discharges kept decreasing, the gap grew even larger. In November, when quits reached its monthly peak at 4.5 million, the difference between quits and layoffs and discharges also peaked at 3.2 million. The previous series high was 1.8 million in March 2019. (See chart 5.)

Summary

JOLTS estimates reflected a vastly different labor market in 2021 compared with the 2020 labor market. In 2020, layoffs and discharges spiked at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic while job openings, hires, and quits fell sharply. Layoffs declined markedly in May 2020 and hires saw a large increase, while the other measures recovered more gradually. Improvement continued in 2021. Job openings increased throughout the year as the demand for labor increased, culminating in a new monthly seasonally adjusted series high of 11.4 million in December. Annual hires increased for the 12th consecutive year, to a new series high of 75.6 million. Quits increased throughout the year, resulting in a monthly series high in November. By contrast, layoffs and discharges fell to a monthly series low in December, as employers sought workers.

Suggested citation:

Rick Penn and Eric Nezamis, "Job openings and quits reach record highs in 2021, layoffs and discharges fall to record lows," Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2022, https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2022.17

Notes


1 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey publishes rates and levels of job openings, hires, quits, layoffs and discharges, other separations, and total separations (also known as turnover) for the nation as a whole and by state, by ownership (private verses public), region, and supersector and select sectors based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Annual estimates are not seasonally adjusted, and monthly estimates are both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted. Over-the-year changes are calculated from December of the previous year through December of the reference year. For more information on the program’s concepts and methodology, see “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey," Handbook of Methods (Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 13, 2020), https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/jlt/home.htm. See also the JOLTS page on the BLS website, at https://www.bls.gov/jlt/.

2 According to the finance and investment education website Investopedia, procyclical “refers to a condition of a positive correlation between the value of a good, a service, or an economic indicator and the overall state of the economy. In other words, the value of the good, service, or indicator tends to move in the same direction as the economy, growing when the economy grows and declining when the economy declines.” For more information, see Akhilesh Ganti, “Procyclic,” Investopedia, updated September 13, 2021, http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/procyclical.asp.

3 The National Bureau of Economic Research is the official arbiter of the beginning and ending dates of U.S. business cycle expansions and contractions. For more information, see “U.S. Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions” (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, September 20, 2010), http://www.nber.org/cycles/.

4 BLS considers job openings a stock measure and does not produce job openings annual totals.

5 The large decrease in annual hires for the federal government was largely due to the lack of temporary Census workers in 2021 following the 2020 Decennial Census.

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About the Author

Rick Penn
penn.richard@bls.gov

Rick Penn is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Eric Nezamis
nezamis.eric@bls.gov

Eric Nezamis is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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