U.S. Job Openings Little Changed at 7.1 Million in August

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on September 29, 2026, that the number of U.S. job openings was little changed at 7.1 million in August 2026, while hires changed little at 5.2 million and total separations were unchanged at 5.1 million. The figures come from the bureau’s monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey news release, numbered USDL-26-1547 and scheduled for publication at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

The job openings rate was 4.3 percent in August, the hires rate was 3.3 percent, and the total separations rate was 3.2 percent. Table A of the release prints preliminary August 2026 levels of 7,079 thousand job openings, 5,192 thousand hires, and 5,070 thousand total separations. A year earlier, in August 2025, the corresponding levels were 6,919 thousand, 5,145 thousand, and 5,207 thousand.

The release states that job openings include all positions open on the last business day of the month, while hires and separations include all changes to the payroll during the entire month. The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings, and the hires and separations rates divide each monthly total by employment.

According to the bureau, job openings changed little in all industries in August. Hires changed little over both the month and the year, and hires also changed little in all industries.

Within separations, the number and rate of quits were unchanged at 3.1 million and 1.9 percent, while layoffs and discharges were essentially unchanged at 1.6 million and 1.0 percent and were little changed in all industries. The number of other separations was little changed at 363,000. Total separations decreased in state and local government education by 30,000. Quits decreased in wholesale trade by 34,000 and in state and local government education by 21,000, and increased in nondurable goods manufacturing by 28,000 and in private educational services by 13,000.

BLS defines quits as generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee and states that the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations include separations due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm.

Industry, Regional, and Size-Class Detail

Table 1 of the release prints July-to-August changes in seasonally adjusted job openings levels that include decreases of 119,000 in professional and business services, 115,000 in health care and social assistance, 54,000 in manufacturing, 48,000 in construction, 45,000 in real estate and rental and leasing, and 45,000 in other services. Printed increases include 61,000 in leisure and hospitality, 54,000 in retail trade, 49,000 in finance and insurance, 45,000 in information, and 16,000 in the federal government. The total printed change was a decrease of 256,000.

By region, job openings levels fell by 243,000 in the West and 78,000 in the Northeast, rose by 71,000 in the South, and declined by 6,000 in the Midwest. The West job openings rate moved from 4.7 percent in July to 4.1 percent in August.

By establishment size, the job openings rate for establishments with 1 to 9 employees decreased from 6.0 percent in July 2026 to 4.3 percent in August 2026, with the level down 335,000 to 1,050 thousand. The release states that the hires, quits, layoffs and discharges, and total separations rates for that size class showed little or no change, and that establishments with 5,000 or more employees showed little or no change in job openings, hires, and separations rates.

Government hires printed at 346,000 in August against 299,000 in July, with state and local government education hires at 158,000 against 134,000. Construction hires printed at 308,000 against 358,000 in July, a printed change of minus 50,000, while nondurable goods manufacturing hires printed at 145,000 against 114,000.

July Revisions and Survey Design

The release revised July 2026 job openings up by 64,000 to 7.3 million, hires up by 92,000 to 5.1 million, and total separations up by 56,000 to 5.1 million. Within separations, July quits were revised up by 33,000 to 3.1 million, and layoffs and discharges were revised up by 36,000 to 1.7 million. BLS states that monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.

The JOLTS survey design is a stratified random sample of approximately 21,000 nonfarm business and government establishments, stratified by ownership, region, industry sector, and establishment size class. The program covers all private nonfarm establishments, as well as civilian federal, state, and local government entities in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Starting with data for January 2023, industries are classified in accordance with the 2022 North American Industry Classification System.

August 2026 estimates are preliminary and are marked as such in the release tables. A note in the release states that data are revised with the release of January data to incorporate annual updates to Current Employment Statistics employment estimates and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors. The release also states that JOLTS estimates are subject to sampling and nonsampling error, and that BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover news release for September 2026 is scheduled to be published on November 3, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.