Job Openings 7.1 Million, Quits 3.1 Million: What the August 2026 JOLTS Means for Job Hoppers
- Job openings were little changed at 7.1 million (a 4.3% rate) in August 2026.
- Hires were 5.2 million (3.3%) and quits 3.1 million (1.9%).
- Layoffs and discharges were 1.6 million (1.0%), essentially unchanged.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) shows how freely people are moving between jobs. When quits are high, employers compete harder for workers and job switchers tend to get bigger raises. When quits are low, the leverage shifts.
The August numbers
| Measure (August 2026) | Level | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Job openings | 7.1 million | 4.3% |
| Hires | 5.2 million | 3.3% |
| Total separations | 5.1 million | 3.2% |
| Quits | 3.1 million | 1.9% |
| Layoffs and discharges | 1.6 million | 1.0% |
| Other separations | 363,000 | — |
Source: BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover, August 2026. BLS also revised July: job openings up by 64,000 to 7.3 million, and hires up by 92,000 to 5.1 million.
Where things moved
Quits fell in wholesale trade (−34,000) and in state and local government education (−21,000), and rose in nondurable goods manufacturing (+28,000) and private educational services (+13,000). The job openings rate fell for establishments with 1 to 9 employees.
How to read JOLTS
Job openings count positions open on the last business day of the month; hires and separations count all payroll changes during the month. BLS describes quits as “generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee,” so the quit rate “can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs.” Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Hires changed little over both the month and the year, and hires, openings and separations changed little in every industry.
What a 1.9% quit rate means for you
- Fewer people are leaving, so fewer jobs open up behind them.
- Hires and separations are roughly balanced, which points to a steady but slow market.
- If you plan to switch for a raise, line up the new offer before you quit.
- If you stay, document your value: with fewer people leaving, keeping good workers is cheaper for employers than replacing them.
The September 2026 JOLTS release is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Published October 27, 2026. Sources are linked in the text.
Header image: original graphic by JobPayRaise.com.
Comments (1)
Longer stays show up in other data too. In January 2026, 20.6% of wage and salary workers had been with their employer a year or less, down from 22.2% in January 2024, and median tenure rose to 4.1 years. Source: BLS Employee Tenure in 2026.