JOLTS, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, is a monthly survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that measures four key flows in the labor market: job openings, hires, total separations, and quits. The data is reported as both raw counts and rates (per 100 employees). It covers private nonfarm establishments plus state and local government.

How is the quits rate calculated?

The quits rate is the number of voluntary employee-initiated separations during the month, divided by the average employment for that month, expressed as a percentage. For example, if 100 employees voluntarily quit out of 5,000 average employment, the quits rate is 2.0%. Economists watch the quits rate as a "confidence" indicator, workers quit more when they believe better jobs are available.

What is the difference between hires rate and openings rate?

The openings rate measures unfilled positions, jobs employers are actively trying to fill. The hires rate measures filled positions, actual new starts on the payroll. Openings tend to lead hires by 1-3 months. A widening gap (openings rising faster than hires) signals labor market tightness.

When is the next JOLTS release?

BLS releases JOLTS data on the first Tuesday of each month at 10:00 AM Eastern, with a typical 6-week lag (e.g., January data publishes in early March). The full BLS release calendar is at bls.gov/schedule.

How does PlainLabor present JOLTS?

We track 28 industries across 51 states from January 2019 through July 2026 - every official JOLTS series. Each state and industry page shows current values, multi-year trend, ranking vs national average, and plain-English context.

JOLTS, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

Name: PlainLabor JOLTS explainer extract
Creator: PlainLabor
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Compiled by PlainLabor

Plain explanations of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly snapshot of labor market churn - what JOLTS is, how the four key rates work, and where to find each series by state and industry.

Quick facts

Latest release period: July 2026
Source agency: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Series tracked: 28 industries × 51 states
Data window: Jan 2019 → July 2026

The four rates JOLTS measures

Every JOLTS release reports four flows of labor between employers and workers, each expressed as a rate per 100 employees:

Openings rate - unfilled job openings on the last business day of the month, divided by employment plus openings. Signals demand for labor. Higher rates indicate labor market tightness.
Hires rate - new hires during the month, divided by average employment. Signals actual labor flow into employment. The gap between openings and hires reflects how hard employers find it to fill positions.
Quits rate - voluntary employee-initiated separations, divided by average employment. Watched as a worker-confidence indicator: workers quit more readily when they believe better opportunities exist elsewhere.
Layoffs & discharges rate - involuntary employer-initiated separations divided by average employment. Tracks employer distress and workforce reductions.

Total separations = quits + layoffs + other (retirements, deaths, transfers). The "other" component is small but non-zero.

Reading the data on PlainLabor

PlainLabor reformats the BLS series for plain-English browsing:

By state - every U.S. state and DC has a JOLTS page showing current openings/hires/quits/layoffs rates plus 24-month trend. See all 51 state pages.
By industry - 28 private and government industries from BLS supersector classification. See all industry pages.
Rankings - top/bottom states for each rate, refreshed with each BLS release. See national rankings.

JOLTS release schedule

BLS releases JOLTS on the first Tuesday of each month at 10:00 AM Eastern. The release lag is typically 6 weeks, January data publishes in early March, February data publishes in early April, and so on. The full BLS release calendar is at BLS Schedule of Releases (bls.gov/schedule).

PlainLabor refreshes its JOLTS pages after processing a new BLS release; the latest processed release can lag the official publication. The states and industries pages show their latest processed official series.

Methodology and limitations

JOLTS surveys ~21,000 nonfarm business establishments and government agencies each month. Data is subject to standard BLS sampling error and is revised in subsequent months as more responses arrive. Industry-level data uses the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) supersector codes. State-level JOLTS data is published only for the four major rates, finer industry breakouts are available at the national level only.

PlainLabor presents BLS data verbatim, we do not adjust, smooth, or extrapolate. For methodology details see BLS JOLTS Technical Documentation (bls.gov/jlt/jltdocumentation.htm).

Frequently asked questions

What is JOLTS?: JOLTS, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, is a monthly survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that measures four key flows in the labor market: job openings, hires, total separations, and quits. The data is reported as both raw counts and rates (per 100 employees). It covers private nonfarm establishments plus state and local government.
How is the quits rate calculated?: The quits rate is the number of voluntary employee-initiated separations during the month, divided by the average employment for that month, expressed as a percentage. For example, if 100 employees voluntarily quit out of 5,000 average employment, the quits rate is 2.0%. Economists watch the quits rate as a "confidence" indicator, workers quit more when they believe better jobs are available.
What is the difference between hires rate and openings rate?: The openings rate measures unfilled positions, jobs employers are actively trying to fill. The hires rate measures filled positions, actual new starts on the payroll. Openings tend to lead hires by 1-3 months. A widening gap (openings rising faster than hires) signals labor market tightness.
When is the next JOLTS release?: BLS releases JOLTS data on the first Tuesday of each month at 10:00 AM Eastern, with a typical 6-week lag (e.g., January data publishes in early March). The full BLS release calendar is at bls.gov/schedule.
How does PlainLabor present JOLTS?: We track 28 industries across 51 states from January 2019 through July 2026 - every official JOLTS series. Each state and industry page shows current values, multi-year trend, ranking vs national average, and plain-English context.

Download the BLS JOLTS state snapshot cited on this page: jolts-labor-market-statistics.csv (CC0).

Every figure on PlainLabor is rendered from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS); no number is typed in by an editor. This explainer defines official JOLTS rates; it is not a hiring recommendation or real-time vacancy feed. See our editorial standards and corrections policy, methodology, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026. JOLTS figures are employer-survey openings and turnover rates for a published reference month - not job-quality rankings, hiring recommendations, or real-time vacancy postings.