Current

• Job Openings and Labor Turnover (HTML) (PDF)
• JOLTS technical note
• Significant Change Tables
• For Annual Data, please open the January 2021 press release (PDF).

Archived

• JOLTS Releases
• JOLTS Significant Change Tables, Graphs and Highlights

Databases

Database Name	Special Notice	Top Picks	Data Finder	One Screen	Multi- Screen	Tables	Text Files
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)

• Larry Akinyooye and Eric Nezamis "As the COVID-19 pandemic affects the nation, hires and turnover reach record highs in 2020"
• Katherine Bauer "JOLTS 2020 Benchmark Article"
• Kim Riley, Eric Nezamis, and Montgomery McCarthy "Job openings and labor turnover trends for Midwestern states in 2018"
• Lawrence Essien, Jean Ibrahim, and Katherine Bauer "Job openings and labor turnover trends for Southern states in 2018"
• Hope Allen and Skyla Skopovi "Job openings and labor turnover trends for Metropolitan Statistical Areas in 2019"
• Skyla Skopovi and Jonathan Krause "Job openings and labor turnover trends for Western States in 2018"
• Montgomery McCarthy and Larry Akinyooye "Job openings, hires, and quits set record highs in 2019"
• Hope Allen and Larry Akinyooye "Job openings and labor turnover trends for Northeastern states in 2018"
• Lawrence S. Essien and Montgomery McCarthy "Job openings, hires, and quits reach historic highs in 2018"
• Charlotte Oslund "An analysis of the new job openings and labor turnover data by size of firm"
• Charlotte Oslund "Which industries are filling job openings and which industries are not? Exploring the JOLTS hires-per-job-opening ratio"
• Katherine Bauer and Paul R. Calhoun Jr. "Job openings reach a new high in 2017, hires and quits also increase"
• Charlotte Oslund "Exploring labor market trends through JOLTS firm-size data"
• Kimberly Riley "Measuring employer and employee confidence in the economy: the quits-to-layoffs-and-discharges ratio"
• Blanka Thibaud "Job openings, hires, and separations rise, but at a slower pace, in 2016"
• Ainslie MacLeod "Job openings, hires, and separations return to prerecession levels in 2015"
• Charlotte Oslund "Which industries need workers? Exploring differences in labor market activity"
• Katherine Bauer "Comparison of U.S. and international labor turnover statistics"
• Kevin S. Dubina "Job openings reach a new high, hires and quits also increase"
• Megan Sweitzer "Job openings continue to rise in 2013"
• Katherine Bauer "Examination of state-level labor turnover survey data"
• Kendra C. Hathaway "Job openings continue to grow in 2012, hires and separations less so"
• Katherine Bauer "Analysis of JOLTS Research Estimates by Size of Firm"
• Guy L. Podgornik "Job openings and hires continue to show modest changes in 2011"
• Katherine Bauer Klemmer and Robert Lazaneo "Job openings and hires show little postrecession improvement"
• Caryn N. Bruyere, Guy L. Podgornik, and James R. Spletzer "Employment dynamics over the last decade"
• Edmond Cheng, Nicole Hudson, Jurgen Kropf, and Jeannine Mercurio "The CES/JOLTS Divergence: How to Apply the Monthly Alignment Method to Help Close the Gap"
• Mark deWolf and Katherine Klemmer "Job openings, hires, and separations fall during the recession"
• Katherine Klemmer “Job availability during a recession: an examination of the number of unemployed persons per job opening”
• John Wohlford "Methodological Changes in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey"
• Katherine Klemmer “Job openings and hires decline in 2008”
• Zhi Boon “Job openings, hires, and turnover decrease in 2007”
• Zhi Boon, Charles M. Carson, R. Jason Faberman, and Randy E. Ilg, “Studying the labor market using BLS labor dynamics data”
• Brady Stephens and Kim Riley, “Developing Annual Estimates of Hires and Separations”
• Kelly A. Clark, “The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey: what initial data show”
• John Wohlford, Mary Anne Phillips, Richard Clayton, and George Werking, “Reconciling Labor Turnover and Employment Statistics”
• Kelly A. Clark and Mary Anne Phillips, “A Comparison of Job Openings Surveys: Concepts and Survey Design”
• Kelly A. Clark, “What an Indicator of Labor Demand Means for U.S. Labor Market Analysis: Initial Results from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey”
• Kelly A. Clark, Mary Anne Phillips, and Brady Stephens, “The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey: Preparing to Publish Data for a New Survey”
• Kelly A. Clark and Rosemary Hyson, “New tools for labor market analysis: JOLTS” (PDF 41K)
• Mark Crankshaw and George Stamas, “Sample Design in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey”
• Charlotte Mueller and John Wohlford, “Developing a New Business Survey: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey at the Bureau of Labor Statistics”
• Mary Anne Phillips and Charlotte Mueller, “The Genesis of an Establishment Survey: Research and Development for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey at the BLS”

Forms

• JOLTS Basic (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview) Form (PDF 24K)
• JOLTS Temporary Help/Professional Employer Organization Industry (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview) Form (PDF 23K)
• JOLTS Education Industry (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview) Form (PDF 23K)

People Are Asking...

1. Are annual estimates available?
2. Are seasonally adjusted JOLTS data available?
3. What dates are the JOLTS data released?
4. Does JOLTS have estimates by occupation, by state, or by metropolitan area?
5. Can JOLTS help my job search?
6. What is the cost of turnover?
7. What is the average number of jobs a person holds over a lifetime?

Frequently Asked Questions

Information for JOLTS Survey Participants

1. Frequently Asked Questions
2. Example Cases for JOLTS Survey Participants
3. Contact Information
4. JOLTS web reporting instructions

Information for JOLTS Data Users

1. What is JOLTS?
2. Availability
3. Frame and Sample
4. Data Definitions
5. Data Collection
6. Data Presentation
7. JOLTS chapter of the BLS Handbook of Methods
8. Reliability of JOLTS Estimates
9. BLS survey response rates
10. Why does JOLTS data sometimes appear inconsistent with CES employment data?

What JOLTS does not have:

1. List of Individual Job Openings
2. Cost of Turnover
3. Tenure
4. Number of Jobs the Average Person has over a lifetime
5. Turnover Rates by Occupation

All JOLTS FAQs »

• Changes to JOLTS series codes
• JOLTS Metropolitan Statistical Area research estimates are now available
• JOLTS establishment size class data methodology
• BLS identified errors in the JOLTS federal government estimates for January 2020. These errors also affect total nonfarm, government, and all four regions. These errors have been corrected with the July 7, 2020 release. More information on these corrections as well as a complete list of corrections in this news release and in the JOLTS database can be found at www.bls.gov/bls/errata/corrections-to-job-openings-and-labor-turnover-survey-estimates-for-january-2020.htm


• Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and August 2017 JOLTS data



• With the release of January 2009 data on March 10, 2009, BLS implemented improvements to the methodology used to generate estimates of hires, separations, and job openings from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program. These changes were designed to improve the measurement of hires, separations, and openings and to more closely align the hires and separations estimates with monthly employment change as measured by the BLS Current Employment Statistics (establishment) survey. All JOLTS historical series were revised to incorporate the new methods. For general information about the improvements in our methodology, please see (www.bls.gov/jlt/methodologyimprovement.htm).

Other BLS Programs

• Business Employment Dynamics—quarterly data series of job gains and job losses statistics, generated from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program.
• Current Employment Statistics (National)— monthly national data by detailed industry on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on the payrolls of nonfarm establishments.
• Current Population Survey— monthly data on the labor force, employment, unemployment and persons not in the labor force. It also provides monthly data on job losers and job leavers and biennial data on displaced workers.
• Mass Layoff Statistics— reports on mass layoff actions that result in workers being separated from their jobs.

Other Useful Links

• CareerOneStop— a source of helpful job search information.
• America's Career InfoNet (ACINet)— helps people make more informed career decisions. America's Career InfoNet is ideal for job seekers, employers, human resource specialists and workforce development specialists.

For additional information concerning the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), contact a JOLTS staff member at:

• Email: Contact JOLTS staff by email
• Telephone number: (202) 691-5870
• Fax number: (202) 691-6645
• Postal address:
  
  Bureau of Labor Statistics
  Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics
  Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Suite 4840
  2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
  Washington, DC 20212-0001

Survey participants who need assistance in completing their monthly report, call 1-800-341-4620.

• BLS News Service Subscription