Prior month 6.542M revised to 6.550MJOLTs Job openings for January 6.946MM vs 6.700 M estimate.Hires 5.294M vs 5.272M prior (revised)Separations 5.105M vs 5.203M prior (revised)Quits 3.137M vs 3.225M prior (revised)Layoffs and discharges 1.631M vs 1.666M (revised)
For 2025 what did the numbers do?
Job openings: Annual average 7.1 million in 2025, down 571K from 2024; openings rate 4.3% vs 4.6% in 2024.
Hires: 63.0 million in 2025, down 1.5 million from 2024; hires rate 3.3% (down from 3.4%).
Total separations: 62.8 million, down 251K from 2024; separations rate 3.3% (unchanged).
Quits: 38.0 million, down 1.3 million, accounting for 60.6% of total separations; quits rate 2.0%.
Layoffs and discharges: 21.2 million, up 1.2 million, accounting for 33.8% of separations; rate 1.1%.
Other separations: 3.5 million, down 224K, accounting for 5.6% of separations; rate 0.2%.
What it is?For background, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, published monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides comprehensive data on labor market dynamics by tracking job openings, hires, and separations across approximately 16,400 nonfarm establishments nationwide. Released typically on the first Tuesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. ET, the report measures unmet labor demand and became a closely watched indicator after former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen highlighted its importance in 2014. A job opening is defined as a position that is vacant on the last business day of the month, has work available, could start within 30 days, and involves active external recruiting. The survey also breaks down separations into quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations, offering insights into worker confidence and employer demand.
This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.