U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Bureau of Labor Statistics > Geographic Information > Midwest > News Release
News Release Information

25-1537-CHI
Tuesday, December 09, 2025

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Illinois Job Openings and Labor Turnover — August 2025

Illinois had 318,000 job openings in August 2025, compared to 279,000 openings in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Acting Regional Commissioner Bryan Droste noted that the job openings rate in Illinois was 4.9 percent in August and 4.3 percent in the previous month. (See chart 1 and table 2.) The job openings rate nationally was 4.3 percent in August, unchanged from July. (See table 3.) All data in this release are seasonally adjusted.

  Line chart displaying job openings as a percent of employment for the United States and Illinois from August 2021 through August 2025. Data are seasonally adjusted. An accessible version is available in the View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data

The ratio of unemployed persons per job opening in Illinois was 0.9 in August. Nationwide, 34 states and the District of Columbia had ratios in August that were lower than the national measure of 1.0 unemployed persons per job opening; 13 states had ratios that were higher than the national ratio, and 3 states had ratios equal to the national measure. (See map 1.)

Map 1. Number of unemployed persons per job opening by state, August 2025, seasonally adjusted

(U.S. ratio = 1.0)


In August, Illinois had 199,000 hires and 214,000 separations, compared to 199,000 hires and 200,000 separations in July. (See chart 2.) Over the 12 months ending in August, hires have averaged 201,000 per month and separations have averaged 193,000 per month. These averages include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.

  Line chart displaying hires and total separations in Illinois from August 2021 through August 2025. Data are seasonally adjusted. Numbers are in thousands. An accessible version is available in the View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data

Among the August separations in Illinois, 131,000 were quits and 70,000 were layoffs and discharges, compared to 121,000 quits and 73,000 layoffs and discharges in July. (See chart 3.) Over the year, quits averaged 115,000 per month, ranging from 90,000 to 136,000. Layoffs and discharges have averaged 69,000 per month, ranging from 58,000 to 77,000.

  Line chart displaying quits and layoffs and discharges in Illinois from August 2021 through August 2025. Data are seasonally adjusted. Numbers are in thousands. An accessible version is available in the View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data

Upcoming Change to the JOLTS State Estimates

The national State Job Openings and Labor Turnover news release will move from a monthly news release to an annual news release. The last monthly news release will occur with the December 2025 data published in February 2026. The first annual news release will be in July 2026. Going forward, monthly estimates for the prior calendar year will be published each year along with the annual news release. The annual news release will incorporate benchmark revisions to JOLTS national estimates, updated Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates, and updated Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data.

Federal Government Shutdown

The release of data for the August 2025 State Job Openings and Labor Turnover was delayed by more than 5 weeks because of the lapse in federal appropriations. While BLS completed data collection prior to the lapse, BLS could not complete data processing and review until appropriations resumed.

Subsequent State JOLTS data releases will also be delayed. Revised release dates will be posted as they become available.


Technical Note

This news release presents statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The JOLTS program provides information on labor demand and turnover. The state estimates produced by JOLTS are model-based, incorporating JOLTS sample, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), and Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates. For more information see the JOLTS State Estimates Methodology.

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 all three of these conditions:

  • A specific position exists and there is work available for that position.
  • The job could start within 30 days.
  • The employer is actively recruiting workers from outside the establishment to fill the position.

The number of unemployed persons per job opening is a ratio of the level of unemployed persons and the level of job openings. The number of unemployed persons at the national level is an estimate from the Current Population Survey (CPS), while state-level unemployment estimates are modeled by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. A ratio of 1.0 means there is a job available for every unemployed person. Lower ratios signal tighter labor markets, where firms have more job openings than there are unemployed persons available to work. Higher ratios indicate there are more unemployed persons competing for each job opening.

Hires. Hires include all additions to the payroll during the entire reference month.

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.
  • Other separations include retirements, transfers to other locations, separations due to employee disability, and deaths.

Levels and rates of other separations represent a small portion of total separations and are not published with the release of state estimates.

Complete definitions, including exclusions, and additional information about the State JOLTS data presented in this release are available in the State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Technical Note.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Job openings and labor turnover for Illinois, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Estimate August 2024 May 2025 June 2025 July 2025 August 2025(p) Change from July 2025 to August 2025(p)

Openings

 298 298 281 279 318 39

Hires

 181 206 199 199 199 0

Total separations

 217 200 189 200 214 14

Quits

 131 126 110 121 131 10

Layoffs & discharges

 77 64 73 73 70 -3

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.
Table 2. Job openings and labor turnover rates for Illinois, seasonally adjusted
Estimate August 2024 May 2025 June 2025 July 2025 August 2025(p) Change from July 2025 to August 2025(p)

Openings(1)

 4.6 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.9 0.6

Hires(2)

 2.9 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.2 0.0

Total separations(3)

 3.5 3.2 3.1 3.2 3.5 0.3

Quits(3)

 2.1 2.0 1.8 2.0 2.1 0.1

Layoffs & discharges(3)

 1.3 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.1 -0.1

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.
(1) The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(2) The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(3) The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits and layoffs and discharges rates are computed similarly.
Table 3. Job openings and labor turnover rates for the United States, seasonally adjusted
Estimate August 2024 May 2025 June 2025 July 2025 August 2025(p) Change from July 2025 to August 2025(p)

Openings(1)

 4.6 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.3 0.0

Hires(2)

 3.3 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.2 -0.1

Total separations(3)

 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.2 -0.1

Quits(3)

 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.9 -0.1

Layoffs & discharges(3)

 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.0

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.
(1) The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(2) The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(3) The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits and layoffs and discharges rates are computed similarly.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, December 09, 2025