US Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary for February

On Tuesday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the results of its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for February. As of the last business day in February, the number of job openings changed little at 8.8 million. This measure is down from a series high of 12.2 million in March 2022. The job openings rate was unchanged for the third consecutive month at 5.3%.

In February, the number of hires changed little at 5.8 million, and the hire rate was 3.7%.

The total number of separations changed little at 5.6 million, and the total number of separations was 3.5%.

The number of quits changed little at 3.5 million, and the rate held steady at 2.2% for the fourth consecutive month.

The number and rate of layoffs and discharges changed little at 1.7 million, and the rate was 1.1%.

The number of other separations in February was little changed at 351,000.

In February, the job openings, hires, and total separation rates changed little both for establishments with 1–9 employees and for establishments with 5,000 employees or more.

Revisions

The BLS notes that monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimate and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.

For January, the number of job openings was revised down by 115,000 to 8.7 million, the number of hires was revised up by 11,000 to 5.7 million, and the number of total separations was revised up by 108,000 to 5.4 million. Within separations, the number of quits was revised up by 61,000 to 3.4 million, and the number of layoffs and discharges was revised up by 24,000 to 1.6 million.