JOLTS improves in January

The number of job openings rose to 7.0 million (+411,000) on the last business day of 

January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires and 

separations were little changed at 5.8 million and 5.6 million, respectively. Within 

separations, the quits rate was unchanged at 2.3 percent and the layoffs and discharges rate was little changed at 1.1 percent. 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 2019 

annual estimates for hires and separations. The annual number of hires at 69.9 million 

and the annual number of quits at 42.1 million increased in 2019. The annual number of 

layoffs and discharges at 21.7 million edged down in 2019.