Job Openings (JOLTS)
Job Openings, reported in the JOLTS survey published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, measures the number of unfilled positions available across U.S. employers at the end of each month, serving as a key gauge of labor demand.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) with roughly a six-week lag, meaning March data typically appears in mid-May. JOLTS tracks four main data series: job openings, hires, quits, and layoffs and discharges. Together they provide a complete picture of labor market flows rather than just the stock of employment.
A job opening is defined as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. The total job openings figure reflects the unmet demand for labor across the economy. When openings significantly outnumber unemployed workers — a condition that prevailed from 2021 through 2023, when openings exceeded 10 million while unemployed workers numbered around 6 million — it signals an exceptionally tight labor market with upward pressure on wages.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell explicitly cited the job openings-to-unemployed ratio as a real-time measure of labor market tightness during the post-pandemic inflation cycle. The Fed used declining JOLTS openings as evidence that labor demand was cooling without requiring large-scale layoffs — a so-called soft landing scenario.
The quits rate within JOLTS is separately watched as a confidence indicator. Workers quit voluntarily when they are confident they can find better-paying jobs. A rising quits rate historically leads wage growth because employers must offer higher pay to retain workers. Conversely, when the quits rate falls, workers feel less confident about their outside options, which tends to moderate wage growth.
For investors, JOLTS data affects bond markets through its influence on Fed policy expectations and equity markets through its implications for corporate labor costs. A sharp decline in openings may reassure bond markets that the Fed need not tighten further, while a sustained high level of openings keeps rate-cut hopes deferred.