Job openings and labor turnover trends for States in 2020

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program publishes estimates on job openings, hires, and separations. JOLTS estimates can provide greater insights into labor market dynamics, such as labor demand and labor turnover, than other employment measures. In 2019, the JOLTS program published JOLTS experimental state estimates for the first time.[1] This Beyond the Numbers article provides updated JOLTS state estimates through 2020 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. We explore trends in several measures—job openings, hires, separations (including quits, layoffs, and discharges), labor churn, fill rates, and unemployed persons per job opening—that can give us a deeper understanding of business cycles and labor demand across the United States and help businesses and workers make better informed decisions. This article also shows data users how they can use these estimates to evaluate labor demand and labor turnover at regional and state levels.

Labor patterns across the United States in 2020

Nationally, the 2020 JOLTS estimates reflected the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 recession. The 2020 estimates described an economic environment in which job openings, hires, and separations experienced substantially large movements early in the year. After the initial economic stress, many of the JOLTS data elements started to return to pre-pandemic levels.[2]

The COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 recession affected all states; however, each state exhibited its own unique labor patterns because of variations in geography; climate; composition of industry employment; labor force demographics, such as education and age; and other factors. Although neighboring states may have different labor patterns, there are often traits shared by states in the same geographic region that directly affect labor markets.[3]

Of the four census regions, the Northeast has the highest population density, which means the most people per square mile.[4] Consequently, this region has the largest labor force per square mile. States within the Northeast region have large variations in population and employment, resulting in differing labor market patterns between states. 

The South has the largest labor force, which is dispersed along a diverse landscape. In addition, government was the largest employer in 6 states in the South.[5] Government has historically been a top employer in Southern states. Because the 17 Southern states also vary in climate and geography, some states exhibit more seasonal employment patterns than others.[6] The Midwest has a distinct industrial composition. States within the region have large variations in population and employment, resulting in differing labor market patterns between states. For a majority of Midwestern states, trade, transportation, and utilities was the major industry with the largest number of employees. This is notable because no other region had one industry that had historically employed the majority of industrial-sector workers. The West has the lowest population density—the least number of people per square mile. As a result, this region has the smallest labor force per square mile. States within the region have large variations in population and employment, resulting in differing labor market patterns between states. For instance, California’s annual average employment level is approximately 60 times that of Wyoming.[7]

Trends in job openings

JOLTS defines job openings as all positions that are open on the last business day of the month. Job openings are a procyclical measure of labor demand; that is, the number of job openings tends to increase during economic expansions and decrease during economic contractions. An increase in job openings generally indicates that employers need additional workers, which is a sign of an increased demand for labor and confidence in the economy.

Chart 1 shows job openings rates in the United States for all states and the District of Columbia. All states experienced a decrease in job openings rates early in 2020. Although all states experienced a decrease in job openings early in the year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of decline varied from state to state. Alaska experienced the largest decline in job openings, decreasing from 6.5 percent in February to 1.7 percent in May.

As the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns were lifted throughout the states, state job openings rates began to return to pre-pandemic rates by the end of 2020. When comparing December 2019 to December 2020, 8 states fell below their December 2019 job openings rates while 42 states and the District of Columbia returned to or surpassed December 2019 rates. Nationally, the job openings rate increased by 0.3 percentage point from December 2019 to December 2020. At the regional level, the Midwest, Northeast, and South increased by 0.4, 0.2, and 0.5 percentage point, respectively, during the same time frame. The Western region saw a 0.1-percentage-point decrease between 2019 and 2020.

Job openings and unemployment

One way to look at labor supply and labor demand is to look at the number of job openings and the number of people looking for work. JOLTS state estimates allow for the comparison of unemployment (labor supply) to job openings (labor demand) at the state level. The number of unemployed persons per job opening factors in both the supply of unemployed persons and the demand of employers.[8] The number of unemployed persons per job opening is a ratio of the level of unemployed persons, as published by the Current Population Survey, and the level of job openings. A ratio of 1.0 means there is a job available for every unemployed person. Lower ratios signal tighter labor markets where firms have more job openings than there are people available to work. Higher ratios indicate there are more unemployed persons competing for each job opening. (See chart 2.)