The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program produces data on job openings, hires, and separations.

Announcement

  • Errors in JOLTS Federal government estimates
    Previously identified errors in JOLTS data were corrected on September 11, 2018. For more information on these corrections please visit: https://www.bls.gov/bls/errata/jolts-errata-06122018.htm.

  • JOLTS Data by Firm Size
    The firm size data have been updated to add calendar year 2017. There were no changes to the methodology. All estimates from December 2000 through December 2016 were subject to revision in the new release. The experimental firm size class estimates and information regarding the methodology are available on the JOLTS firm size class page.

Next Release:

  • Job Openings and Labor Turnover data for December 2018 are scheduled to be released February 12, 2019, at 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time.

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JOLTS News Releases

Job openings fall to 6.9 million; hires and quits edge down in November

01/08/2019

Job openings fell to 6.9 million on the last business day of November. Over the month, hires edged down to 5.7 million, quits edged down to 3.4 million, and total separations were little changed at 5.5 million.
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Current

Archived

 

JOLTS Databases

Databases

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

 

 

JOLTS Publications

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)

JOLTS Frequently Asked Questions

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 »

 

JOLTS Special Notices

  • Revisions to the JOLTS Data
    With the release of January 2018 data on March 16, job openings, hires, and separations data have been revised to incorporate annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) seasonal adjustment factors. Tables showing the revisions from 2013 through 2017 can be found using this link: https://www.bls.gov/jlt/revisiontables.htm

  • Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and August 2017 JOLTS data

  • JOLTS Data by Establishment Size

    JOLTS staff are conducting research on the development of data by size class, and have produced a research series of size class estimates stretching back to December of 2000, when the JOLTS series began. These experimental size class estimates are now available upon request. These data are based on size of establishment and cover only the total private sector. This experimental series will be updated periodically, as resources permit. To obtain these data, please contact us by e-mail or (202) 691-5870. For information regarding the methodology used to develop the size class data please view our size class methodology.

  • August 2011 estimates of hires, separations, and job openings originally published on October 12, 2011, had not been adjusted to account for a strike in the information industry. With the September release, August estimates reflect both regular revisions and corrections. For further assistance, see www.bls.gov/bls/errata/jolts_corrections_11082011.htm.

  • 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).

 

JOLTS Related Links

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.

 

Contact JOLTS

Contact Us

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.