September JOLTS: Workers Quit at Highest Rate Since March 2025 as Openings Jump to 7.5M
Job openings surged past expectations to 7.5M in September, and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) shows a labor market that was warming up even with higher rates in the background.
September was the month workers started betting on themselves again. Hires picked up, quits hit their highest rate in over a year, and layoffs fell, all signs of a market with more turnover and more worker confidence.
Job openings rose by 333K, hires were up 131K, and the quits rate rose to 2.1 as workers felt more comfortable moving. Layoffs ticked down to 1.0, so the pickup in turnover was coming from workers choosing to move, not from employers cutting. Whether that holds will depend on how much higher interest rates and slower hiring weigh on the months ahead. And with September’s dismal job growth, it is likely activity will slow further in the months ahead.
Job openings
Job openings rose to 7.5M, and the openings rate climbed to 4.5. The gains were widespread but uneven, so the details are a mixed bag.
The job openings rate rose most in State and Local Government excluding education (+1.0pp), Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (+0.9pp) and Information (+0.9pp), as white collar industries saw the biggest bumps.
Finance and Insurance saw the biggest decline in openings (-0.5pp), followed by Federal Government (-0.4pp).
Hires
The hires rate rose to 3.4 as hires increased by 131K from August. Hiring is rising even with higher rates, but the gains were concentrated in a few industries.
Accommodation and Food Services saw the largest increase, adding 1.1pp to the hires rate to land at 6.1, with 158K additional hires in that industry alone. All of Leisure and Hospitality added 163K, more than the net increase in private hiring (+155K).
Information (+0.9pp) and Construction (+0.6pp) also saw larger gains, reversing last month’s declines. Information is likely seeing more role turnover as AI changes how work gets done, and Construction is still being led by AI data centers while residential construction spending is down.
Hires fell most in Mining and Logging (-0.6pp), Wholesale Trade (-0.4pp), and Other Services (-0.4pp).
Separations
The quits rate rose to 2.1, up from 1.9 as quits grew by 321K, and it is the first time the rate has reached this level since March of last year. More workers are feeling confident enough to switch jobs. Last month’s Jobs Report showed more people entering the labor pool as workers grew optimistic about opportunities. That was before higher interest rates and slower hiring set in, and was likely a response to the strong job growth in August that did not continue.
Quits rose most in Accommodation and Food Services (+1.4pp, +197K), which could also explain the jump in hires there as workers moved between jobs and employers backfilled. Construction (+0.6pp) also saw a notable increase, while Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (-0.8pp) fell.
Layoffs fell to 1.0, down 127K, so layoffs are not what’s driving higher turnover. Workers were feeling slightly more optimistic than they were a month ago.
What’s next
Friday’s jobs report will tell us how this plays out, particularly whether higher rates keep job growth dampened. This week’s election results could also shape business expectations and how quickly hiring recovers. After a month of low movement, September showed that churn can pick up quickly, but one report doesn’t make a trend.