what is the job openings and labor turnover survey jolts 
the job openings and labor turnover survey jolts is a monthly report by the bureau of labor statistics bls of the u s department of labor counting job vacancies and separations including the number of workers voluntarily quitting employment the bls surveys more than 20 000 businesses and government offices to estimate the numbers of u s job vacancies hires and separations included in the monthly jobs report the job separations numbers are subdivided into three categories total separations quits and layoffs and discharges and other separations which include deaths and retirements 1the number of vacancies is a widely followed indicator of labor demand while the quits rate is partly a function of employment demand job hires and separations can be used to gauge labor turnover 23jolts supplements the bls monthly jobs report which estimates the number of u s payrolls and the unemployment rate jolts data is released nearly a month after the monthly jobs report for the same reference period 45understanding joltsjolts data is published monthly in seasonally adjusted as well as unadjusted form subdivided by region industry and size of the workforce to produce jolts the bls surveys a representative sample of 21 000 nonfarm business and government employers 6 respondents answer questions about their businesses total employment job openings hires and separations 7job openings include all vacancies including those for part time or temporary employment at the end of the reference month meeting the following criteria 8jolts employment estimates are benchmarked or ratio adjusted monthly to the current employment estimates of the current employment statistics ces survey used to produce the monthly jobs report and the jolts to ces employment ratio is then used to adjust other jolts data jolts data are also revised in line with ces on an annual basis it takes about a year for a new business to show up in the government database used to select the survey sample for jolts 6the bls began collecting jolts data in 1999 and publishing survey results in 2002 9jolts and the great resignationthe great resignation describes the rise in the quits rate tracking voluntary separations from employment other than for retirement starting in 2021 as the u s economy and job market rebounded from the downturn caused by the covid 19 pandemic after plummeting to a low of 1 6 in april 2020 the quits rate rebounded to 2 4 by december in line with where it stood 11 months earlier before than pandemic struck the quits rate kept rising reaching a series record 3 in november 2021 and matching that level the next month as well as in march 2022 10in absolute terms the number of workers quitting jobs for reasons other than retirement reached a series high of 4 5 million in march 2022 representing an increase of 152 000 from february 11 job openings of 11 55 million at the end of march were also the highest on record representing 7 1 of the sum of filled and unfilled jobs 12as of april 2023 the number and rate of quits were at 3 8 million and 2 4 a similar rate to the one at the beginning of the pandemic the number of job openings as of april 2023 edged up to 10 1 million representing a 6 1 rate 1