JOLTS Day Graphs: January 2021 Edition

Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS. Today, the BLS released the latest data for January 2021. This report doesn’t get as much attention as the monthly Employment Situation Report, but it contains useful information about the state of the U.S. labor market. Below are a few key graphs using data from the report.

The quits rate declined slightly to 2.3 percent in January, but remains at pre-pandemic levels following the sharp recovery that began in the summer.

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The job opening rate increased slightly while the hire rate decreased slightly in January, leading to a decrease in the vacancy yield for openings-to-hires.

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As unemployment declined and job openings increased, the ratio of unemployed-workers-to-job-opening went down slightly.

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After being stalled for three months, the Beveridge Curve moved closer to typical territory as job openings recovered to their levels one year prior and the unemployment rate decreased partially from its pandemic high.

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