Learn · 8 of 13 · 3 min read
Job openings (JOLTS)
How many jobs are waiting to be filled, how often people quit, and why the Fed watched this survey so closely after 2021.
What it is
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, JOLTS for short, comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics at 10:00 AM Eastern. It counts positions employers were actively trying to fill on the last business day of the month, along with hires, quits and layoffs. It covers the month two months back, so it runs about a month behind the jobs report.
How to read the numbers
Openings are reported in millions. A useful comparison is openings per unemployed person: when there are two openings for every job seeker, as there were in 2022, employers compete for workers and wages climb. Near one, the market is roughly balanced. The quits rate adds color, because people quit more when they are confident they can find something better.
Why markets care
Openings tend to fall before layoffs rise, which makes JOLTS an early read on a cooling labor market. The survey is noisy and revised, and fewer businesses answer it than a decade ago, so traders weigh the trend over several months more than any single print.