Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey: Hiring, quits, and layoffs remain at or below pre-pandemic rates

Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her initial insights on today’s release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for August. Read the full thread here.

The latest #JOLTS data out of the @BLS_gov this morning shows that job openings ticked up in August while hires and total separations held steady. Within separations, layoffs and quits were unchanged. pic.twitter.com/GIdBnG2E6M

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) October 3, 2023

The uptick in job openings in August is not likely a new trend, but rather a blip in a metric otherwise trending down over the last year and a half. In the immediate aftermath of the pandemic recession, high levels of openings were driven by increased churn not overheating. pic.twitter.com/CgaKJCjzYN

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) October 3, 2023

Hiring continues to remain above the quits rate in every sector. The great reshuffling isn’t what it was two years ago, but it continues as workers look and find better job opportunities. The most churn is consistently in the lowest wage sectors. pic.twitter.com/VpGYZNPiyl

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) October 3, 2023