Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey for January 2021

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) today (3-12-21) posted its Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for January 2021. According to the JOLTS report, as of the last business day in January, the number and rate of job openings were little changed at 6.9 million and 4.6% respectively. Job openings increased in state and local government education (+56,000); educational services (+21,000); and mining and logging (+10,000). The number of job openings was little changed in all four regions. Hires were little changed at 5.3 million while total separations decreased to 5.3 million. Within separations, the quits rate of 2.3% and layoffs and discharges rate of 1.2% were little changed. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by four geographic regions. The release also includes 2020 annual estimates for hires and separations. The annual number of hires at 73.1 million and the annual number of layoffs and discharges at 41.0 million increased in 2020. The annual number of quits at 36.3 million decreased in 2020. Over the 12 months ending in January, hires totaled 72.4 million and separations totaled 81.2 million, yielding a net employment loss of -8.8 million. These totals include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.