Job openings little changed at 7.5 million in September as quits increased to 3.4 million, BLS says

The number of job openings was 7.5 million on the last business day of September 2026, a rate of 4.5%, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics described both as little changed in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover release on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Quits increased to 3.4 million, the bureau said, and it described the quits rate, 2.1%, as little changed.¹

Hires were 5.4 million in September, a rate of 3.4%, and the bureau said both changed little over the month. Total separations were 5.3 million, which the bureau called little changed, with the rate unchanged at 3.3%. The bureau also described layoffs and discharges, at 1.6 million and 1.0%, and other separations, at 313,000, as little changed.¹

All of the figures are seasonally adjusted. September's are marked preliminary in the tables.¹

Month and year comparisons

The release's tables give these total nonfarm levels, seasonally adjusted, with rates in parentheses:¹

• Job openings: 7,523,000 in September 2026 (4.5%), 7,190,000 in August 2026 (4.3%), 7,169,000 in September 2025 (4.3%). Change from August: +333,000.
• Hires: 5,402,000 in September 2026 (3.4%), 5,271,000 in August 2026 (3.3%), 5,244,000 in September 2025 (3.3%). Change from August: +131,000.
• Total separations: 5,319,000 in September 2026 (3.3%), 5,175,000 in August 2026 (3.3%), 5,161,000 in September 2025 (3.3%). Change from August: +144,000.
• Quits: 3,365,000 in September 2026 (2.1%), 3,044,000 in August 2026 (1.9%), 2,990,000 in September 2025 (1.9%). Change from August: +321,000.
• Layoffs and discharges: 1,641,000 in September 2026 (1.0%), 1,768,000 in August 2026 (1.1%), 1,816,000 in September 2025 (1.1%). Change from August: -127,000.
• Other separations: 313,000 in September 2026 (0.2%), 363,000 in August 2026 (0.2%), 356,000 in September 2025 (0.2%). Change from August: -50,000.

Total nonfarm quits were up 375,000 from a year earlier, the bureau said.¹

By industry

The release's text names these one-month changes by industry:¹

• Job openings: state and local government, excluding education, +104,000.
• Hires: accommodation and food services, +158,000.
• Total separations: accommodation and food services, +195,000.
• Quits: accommodation and food services, +197,000; arts, entertainment and recreation, -19,000.
• Layoffs and discharges: health care and social assistance, -70,000.

August revisions

The bureau revised its August 2026 estimates. Job openings were revised up by 111,000 to 7.2 million, hires up by 79,000 to 5.3 million and total separations up by 105,000 to 5.2 million. Quits were revised down by 22,000 to 3.0 million, and layoffs and discharges were revised up by 127,000 to 1.8 million. The bureau attributes monthly revisions to additional reports from businesses and government agencies and to recalculated seasonal factors.¹

How the survey works

The survey is a sample of about 21,000 nonfarm business and government establishments, according to the release's technical note. Openings are counted on the last business day of the month, and hires and separations across the entire month.¹

Next releases

The bureau scheduled the October 2026 Job Openings and Labor Turnover release for Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 10 a.m. Eastern time.¹ Its calendar lists the Employment Situation report for October 2026 for Friday, Nov. 6, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.²

What the records do not show

• The release does not give reasons for the changes it reports.¹
• It has no state-level estimates; its geographic tables cover four regions.¹
• Its text does not label individual changes as statistically significant. The technical note says the bureau's analyses are generally conducted at the 90% confidence level and refers to standard errors published separately, which we did not open.¹
• The table figures above come from the PDF version of the release, dated Nov. 3. When we opened the HTML text of the release on Nov. 3, it showed the same rounded September figures as the PDF. The HTML version of Table 1 still displayed August 2026 as its latest month, so the September table figures were not checked against the HTML tables.¹