Job Openings and Labor Turnover: January 2024

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

The number of job openings changed little at 8.9 million on the last business day of January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, the number of hires and total separations were little changed at 5.7 million and 5.3 million, respectively. Within separations, quits (3.4 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.6 million) changed little. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by establishment size class. This release also includes 2023 annual estimates for job openings, hires, and separations.

Job Openings

On the last business day of January, the number of job openings changed little at 8.9 million; this measure is down from a series high of 12.2 million in March 2022. Over the month, the rate was unchanged at 5.3 percent. In January, job openings increased in nondurable goods manufacturing (+82,000) but decreased in private educational services (-41,000). (See table 1.)

Hires

In January, the number and rate of hires were little changed at 5.7 million and 3.6 percent, respectively. Hires decreased in state and local government education (-37,000). (See table 2.)

Separations

Total separations include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations include separations due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm.

The number of total separations in January changed little at 5.3 million, and the rate was 3.4 percent for the third month in a row. Over the month, the number of total separations decreased in health care and social assistance (-86,000) and in federal government (-8,000). (See table 3.)

In January, the number and rate of quits were little changed at 3.4 million and 2.1 percent, respectively. The number of quits increased in information (+23,000) but decreased in real estate and rental and leasing (-16,000). (See table 4.)

In January, the number of layoffs and discharges changed little at 1.6 million, and the rate was 1.0 percent for the third month in a row. The number of layoffs and discharges decreased in state and local government education (-19,000) but increased in mining and logging (+7,000). (See table 5.)

The number of other separations was little changed in January at 384,000. (See table 6.)

Establishment Size Class

In January, establishments with 1 to 9 employees saw little change in their job openings rate, hires rate, and total separations rate. The job openings rate decreased for establishments with 5,000 or more employees. (See table 7.)

December 2023 Revisions

The number of job openings for December was revised down by 137,000 to 8.9 million, the number of hires was revised up by 166,000 to 5.8 million, and the number of total separations was revised up by 54,000 to 5.4 million. Within separations, the number of quits was revised up by 47,000 to 3.4 million and the number of layoffs and discharges was revised down by 9,000 to 1.6 million. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors. The annual benchmark process also contributes to the December revisions.)

Annual Levels and Rates

Consistent with BLS practice, annual estimates are published for not seasonally adjusted data each year with the January news release. For details about how these estimates are calculated, see the technical note.

In 2023, the annual average job openings level was 9.4 million, a decrease of 1.8 million from 2022. The annual average job openings rate was 5.7 percent in 2023, compared to 6.8 percent in 2022. (See tables 15 and 16.)

In 2023, the annual hires level was 71.0 million, a decrease of 5.8 million from 2022. Annual total separations decreased by 4.2 million in 2023 to 68.1 million. Annual quits decreased by 6.1 million in 2023 to 44.4 million and accounted for 65.2 percent of total separations. Annual layoffs and discharges increased by 2.1 million in 2023 to 19.8 million and accounted for 29.0 percent of total separations. Annual other separations decreased by 176,000 in 2023 to 3.9 million and accounted for 5.8 percent of total separations. (See tables 17 through 26.)

The annual average hires rate for 2023 was 3.8 percent, down from 4.2 percent in 2022. The annual average total separations rate for 2023 was 3.6 percent, compared to 3.9 percent in 2022. The annual average rates for the components of total separations were 2.4 percent for quits, 1.1 percent for layoffs and discharges, and 0.2 percent for other separations. (See tables 17 through 26.)

(p) Preliminary NOTE: Data are revised with the release of January data to incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors.

Annual Revisions to Job Openings and Labor Turnover Data

The JOLTS data are revised annually to reflect updates to the Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates. The JOLTS employment levels (not published) are ratio-adjusted to the CES employment levels, and the resulting ratios are applied to all JOLTS data elements. This annual benchmarking process results in revisions to both the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted JOLTS data series. The seasonally adjusted data are recalculated for the most recent 5 years to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors. Further, the alignment methodology creates a dependency of the not seasonally adjusted estimates on the seasonal adjustment process. Therefore, the data series that are not seasonally adjusted are also recalculated for the most recent 5 years to reflect the effect of the updated seasonal adjustment factors on the alignment process. Tables B through G below present revised total nonfarm data for January through December 2023. The December 2023 revisions also reflect the routine incorporation of additional sample receipts into the final December estimates. Tables presenting revisions to total nonfarm data for January 2019 through December 2023 will be available on the JOLTS website later in the day following the release. The website also contains all revised seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data. The revision tables and data can be accessed through the JOLTS homepage at www.bls.gov/jlt/.