Job Openings and Labor Turnover Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

March 10, 2022 R47047

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Before and
March 10, 2022
During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Paul D. Romero
The COVID-19 pandemic and recession in early 2020 resulted in the swift and marked
Research Assistant
deterioration of national labor market conditions, with some lasting effects. While public focus

has largely been on headline labor market indicators, such as the unemployment rate and job
Isaac A. Nicchitta
numbers, pandemic impacts are also reflected in official job openings and labor turnover
Research Assistant
statistics. As the economy recovers, reports of labor shortages in some sectors have drawn greater

interest in these indicators.
Sarah A. Donovan
This report analyzes both long-term and recent trends for U.S. job openings, hires, quits, and
Specialist in Labor Policy
layoffs as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

(JOLTS) at the national and sector level. Among other findings, this report shows the following.

For job openings and hires:
 In general, the number of job openings and hires have increased over time (and with the size of the
economy), are procyclical (i.e., rising with economic expansion and falling during recessions), and exhibit
considerable month-to-month volatility.
 The number of job openings typically increase at a faster rate than the number of hires. This is reflected
across all sectors.
 In the 12 months following the end of the 2020 recession, both job openings and hires grew at a much
faster rate than they did following the 2001 and 2007-2009 recessions. This was reflected across all sectors.
 The most recent six months for which data are available (July 2021 to December 2021) show an elevated
growth rate in job openings and a declining growth rate in hires. At the sector-level, the growth in both job
openings and hires were well below where they were in the immediate 12 months following the 2020
recession.
For quits and layoffs:
 In general, the number of quits has gradually increased over time and the number of layoffs has remained
relatively stable. Quits exhibit a procyclical response to the business cycle, while layoffs exhibit a
countercyclical (i.e., rising during recessions and falling with economic expansion) response. Both metrics
show considerable month-to-month volatility.
 During the 2020 recession, layoffs reached the highest recorded value in the history of the JOLTS series
(13.0 million in March 2020) and quits decreased substantially. The Leisure and Hospitality sector
experienced the highest level of layoffs among all sectors.
 In the 12 months following the end of the 2020 recession, quits increased and layoffs decreased at a much
faster rate than they did following the prior two recessions. This trend was reflected in most, but not all,
sectors.
 The most recent six months for which data are available (July 2021 to December 2021) show continued
growth in quits and declines in layoffs. At the sector-level, the growth in quits was exhibited across all
sectors, though the degree of growth varied. Layoffs differed significantly by sector, with certain sectors
showing declining layoffs and others showing increasing layoffs.
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Introduction
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 resulted in a short but deep recession and led
to marked deterioration of the U.S. labor market, with lasting effects.1 The National Bureau of
Economic Research (NBER) identified a recession lasting from February 2020 to April 2020. In
January 2020, the unemployment rate was 3.5%, total nonfarm employment was at 152.2 million,
and there were 164.5 million individuals in the labor force. By April 2020, the unemployment rate
had increased to 14.8%, 22.1 million jobs had been lost, and 8.4 million individuals had left the
labor force.2 Since then, the labor market has improved substantially, but it has not fully
recovered. By December 2021, the unemployment rate had decreased to 3.9% (0.4 percentage
points above the January 2020 rate), but 3.3 million fewer individuals were employed in nonfarm
industries than in January 2020.
Similar to the headline unemployment rate and jobs numbers, official data on job openings and
labor turnover (i.e., hires and job separations) show a substantial labor market response to the
pandemic and recession, and—more recently—a recovering labor market. According to data from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), job
openings declined from 7.2 million in January 2020 to 4.6 million in April 2020, and the number
of hires declined from 6.0 million in January 2020 to 3.9 million in April 2020. The number of
workers quitting their jobs fell to 2.1 million in April 2020 (from 3.6 million in January 2020), as
layoffs3 reached the highest level ever recorded in the JOLTS data series.4 In 2021, however,
JOLTS data appear to signal a potential rebound in employers’ demand for labor, and greater
confidence among workers about their labor market options. In December 2021, job openings
were at 10.9 million, 6.3 million people were hired, 4.3 million people quit their jobs, and 1.2
million people were laid off.5
Together with indicators reported in the BLS monthly jobs report (e.g., the unemployment rate),
BLS job openings and labor turnover data provide useful insights to labor market trends and
current conditions. Job openings and labor turnover data are particularly valuable as a gauge of
labor demand, the ease with which employers can hire workers, and labor market dynamics more
generally. This report responds to ongoing congressional interest in the overall strength of the
U.S. labor market, including the ability of employers and workers to make productive job
matches, and the state of the workforce since the onset of the pandemic. It examines trends in job
openings and labor turnover indicators in the period since JOLTS data collection started in

1 The World Health Organization officially declared the virus a pandemic on March 11, 2020. World Health
Organization, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Situation Report 51, March 11, 2020, p. 1, https://www.who.int/
docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200311-sitrep-51-covid-19.pdf. See https://www.nber.org/
cycles.html for its historical series of expansions and contractions. For more on its process for determining expansions
and contractions, see https://www.nber.org/cycles/recessionsfaq.html#:~:text=
What%20is%20an%20expansion%3F,more%20than%20a%20few%20months.&text=
Expansion%20is%20the%20normal%20state,economy%3B%20most%20recessions%20are%20brief.
2 For more information, see CRS Report R46554, Unemployment Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic, coordinated
by Gene Falk.
3 Throughout this report, layoffs will include both layoffs and discharges. See Table 1 for an overview of all JOLTS
indicators discussed in this report, including layoffs and discharges.
4 The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data have been reported on a monthly basis since December
2000.
5 Data from the JOLTS have a one-month lag behind data collected by the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the
Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey.
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December 2000, and considers recent data in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and
recession. Analysis is conducted for the national labor market, as well as for specific sectors.
The Labor Market During the COVID-19 Recession
and its Recovery
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically disrupted the labor force in early 2020 as businesses
closed or reduced operations and consumer demand shifted away from in-person commerce. The
swift drop in economic activity led to a relatively short (two-month) but deep recession, with
massive employment losses. Although job loss was widespread, some sectors were more affected
than others. For example, whereas overall employment fell by nearly 15% between February and
April 2020, employment in the Leisure and Hospitality sector was cut nearly in half (a 48.6%
decline).
Since April 2020, progress toward labor market recovery has been relatively rapid, aided by a
large number of individuals returning from temporary layoffs that occurred in the first months of
the pandemic.6 The unemployment rate, for example, dropped by 10 percentage points (and fell
below 5%) in 17 months (April 2020 to September 2021).7 However, the labor force participation
rate remains relatively low,8 and preliminary data for December 2021 indicate there were about
3.3 million fewer jobs on business payrolls than in January 2020.
These patterns suggest that labor market recovery following the pandemic-induced recession may
differ from past recoveries. Importantly, pandemic conditions—while mitigated—persist, and
appear to be affecting workers’ decisions around work.9 Some workers, particularly those serving
the general public or working in close proximity to coworkers, may be reluctant to return to work
due to concerns about potential workplace exposure or customer aggression.10 Others may have
taken on additional caregiving responsibilities that limited their options for market-based work.11

6 Temporary layoffs made up nearly 78% of unemployed workers in April 2020; see U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS), Currently Population Survey data, https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS13023654.
7 By comparison, it took more than seven years for the unemployment rate to fall from its high of 10% during the Great
Recession to it pre-pandemic rate; see BLS, Current Population Survey, https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000.
8 The December 2021 rate was 1.5 percentage points below its January 2020 value.
9 See a discussion of potential causes of recent employment patterns in CRS Insight IN11771, Labor Market Tightness
and the Economic Recovery, Part 2, by Marc Labonte and Lida R. Weinstock.
10 According to data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, nearly 5% of nonretired persons who reported
they were not working when interviewed between December 29, 2021, and January 10, 2022, indicated they had not
worked because they were “concerned about getting or spreading the coronavirus.” Census Bureau Household Pulse
Survey, Employment Table 3. Educational Attainment for Adults Not Working at Time of Survey, by Main Reason for
Not Working and Source Used to Meet Spending Needs: United States, Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/data/
tables/2021/demo/hhp/hhp41.html. See also Julia F. Lippert, Mackenzie B. Furnari and Charlie W. Kriebel, “The
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Occupational Stress in Restaurant Work: A Qualitative Study,” International
Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18 (2021), https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/19/10378.
Examples of reports of increased customer incivility is in Sarah Lyall, “A Nation on Hold Wants to Speak With a
Manager,” The New York Times, January 1, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/01/ business/customer-service-
pandemic-rage.html; HD Byon, K. Sagherian, Y. Kim, J. Lipscomb, M. Crandall and L. Steege, “Nurses’ Experience
With Type II Workplace Violence and Underreporting During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Workplace Health & Safety,
August 2021, https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799211031233; and Nada Elnahla and Leighann C. Neilson, The Stressors
Faced by Retail Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings,
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/amtp-proceedings_2021/2.
11 The Federal Reserve estimated that “nonparticipation in the labor force associated with caregiving has increased 0.7
percentage point” between 2020 and 2021; see Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Monetary Policy
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In addition, access to federal cash payments for some families and strong personal savings rates
in much of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 may allow some workers to prolong job search and to
be more selective about job offers.12 Consequently, some employers have raised concerns about
potential labor shortages.
It is against this backdrop that this report considers trends in job openings and labor turnover in
the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, recession, and economic recovery.
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)
Methodology
The JOLTS is a monthly survey of 20,700 nonfarm business and government establishments
conducted by the BLS. 13 The sample is drawn from a database of approximately 9.4 million
establishments compiled by the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)
program. This QCEW database includes all establishments subject to state unemployment
insurance laws and all federal agencies subject to the Unemployment Compensation for Federal
Employees program. Data on employment, job openings, hires, quits, layoffs, and other
separations are then collected from these sampled establishments on a voluntary basis.14 Data
definitions for JOLTS variables used in this report are provided in Table 1.
Table 1. JOLTS Indicator Definitions
Indicator
Definition
Job Openings
All positions that are open (not fil ed) on the last business day of the month.
An open position must meet these criteria:

A specific position exists and there is work available for that position. The position
can be ful -time or part-time, and it can be permanent, short-term, or seasonal.

The job could start within 30 days, whether or not the establishment finds a
suitable candidate during that time.

There is active recruiting for workers from outside the establishment location that
has the opening.

Report – July 2021, July 9, 2021, https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/2021-07-mpr-part1.htm.
12 Rick Babson, Study shows surge in savings during the pandemic: Research found a significant increase in savings as
a percentage of personal income amid COVID-19, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, April 2021,
https://www.kansascityfed.org/ten/2021-spring-ten-magazine/study-shows-surge-in-savings-during-the-pandemic/.
13 On July 31, 2019, BLS published a notice in the Federal Register requesting clearance from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to make revisions to the JOLTS methodology. These revisions extended the time
establishments remained in the sample from 24 months to 36 months, which, in turn, increased the sample size from
16,000 establishments to its current size of 20,700. See BLS, “Proposed Collection, Comment Request,” 84 Federal
Register 37350, July 31, 2019. BLS began the process of increasing the JOLTS sample size in February 2020. CRS
confirmed with BLS that the increased sample size did not significantly impact the comparability of JOLTS estimates;
CRS correspondence with BLS on August 4, 2021.
14 BLS, Economic News Release, “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Technical Note,” July 7, 2021,
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.tn.htm.
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Indicator
Definition
Hires
All additions to the payrol during the month.
Hires include newly hired and rehired employees; permanent, short-term, and seasonal
employees; ful -time and part-time employees; on-call or intermittent employees who
returned to work after having been formally separated; workers who were hired and
separated during the month; transfers from other locations; and employees who were
recalled to a job at the sampled establishment fol owing a formal layoff lasting more than
seven days.
The fol owing are excluded from hires:

Transfers or promotions within the sampled establishment.

Employees returning from strikes.

Employees of temporary help agencies, employee-leasing companies, outside
contractors, or consultants working at the sampled establishment. A separate form
is used to col ect information from temporary help and employee-leasing firms for
these employees.
Quits
All employees who left their establishment voluntarily and were separated from the
payrol during the month, with the exception of retirements and transfers to other
locations.
Layoffs and
All employees who were involuntarily separated from the payrol by their employer
Dischargesa
during the month.
Layoffs and discharges includes layoffs with no intent to rehire; discharges because
positions were eliminated; discharges resulting from mergers, downsizing, or plant
closings; firings or other discharges for cause; terminations of seasonal employees
(whether or not they are expected to return next season); and layoffs (suspensions from
pay status) lasting or expected to last more than seven days.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, “Data Definitions,” last
updated April 11, 2017, https://www.bls.gov/jlt/jltdef.htm#2.
a. Throughout this report, the layoffs and discharges category is referred to as layoffs.
Job openings and the labor turnover indicators (hires and separations) are calculated using
somewhat different reference periods. Job openings describe the number of opening vacancies at
the end of a given month. Because employers may continue efforts to fill a particular position
over several months, job openings accumulate over time (i.e., the indicator does not merely
measure jobs opened in a single month, but the cumulative number of job openings that are open
on the last business day of that month). Hires, quits, and separations (layoffs and discharges)
measure values on a monthly basis (i.e., they measure outcomes in a single month and do not
directly reflect cumulative patterns). The difference in reference period affects comparisons of job
openings to labor turnover measures. It is sometimes necessary to look back at several months of
labor turnover indicators to get a sense of cumulative outcomes and put job openings in
perspective.
As with all survey data collected from a sample of respondents, JOLTS estimates can be affected
by sampling error and nonsampling error. Sampling error occurs when a survey covers a sample
of a population as opposed to the entire population. As a result, sample estimates may differ from
the actual values for the population. Nonsampling error may occur for a variety of reasons. BLS
specifically mentions “the failure to include a segment of the population, the inability to obtain
data from all units in the sample, the inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide data on
a timely basis, mistakes made by respondents, errors made in the collection or processing of the
data, and errors from the employment benchmark data used in estimation” as possible sources of
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nonsampling error for JOLTS estimates.15 In accordance with other BLS analysis, JOLTS
estimates are conducted at a 90% confidence level.16
Job Openings and Labor Turnover in the National
Labor Market
The monthly release of JOLTS data describes the overall number of job openings, hires, quits,
and layoffs in the U.S. labor market. Data on these indicators have been provided on a monthly
basis since December 2000. This gives researchers a robust data set for understanding trends in
job openings and labor turnover.
Long-Term Trends in the Number of Job Openings, Hires, and
Separations
Figure 1 presents monthly job openings and hires between December 2000 (the first month in the
series) and December 2021. Three prominent features of these indicators are
 a general upward trend in job openings and hires, reflective of growing economic
output over time;
 procyclical patterns: during the three economic recessions included in the data
series the number of job openings and hires typically declined and during
economic expansions they typically increased; and
 volatility that complicates the interpretation of month-over-month changes in the
number of job openings or hires; longer-term trends tend to be more informative.
Figure 1 also reveals a pattern of relatively high growth in job openings, such that the number of
job openings overtook the number of hires in June 2014 for the first time in the JOLTS series. The
data reveal that the source of this change was the quicker rate of growth in job openings than
hires for almost every month in the time series. As a result, the number of job openings has been
greater than the number of hires for almost every month since job openings overtook hires and the
gap between the two indicators has been growing over time.
JOLTS data reveal a sharp decline in both job openings and hires during the 2020 recession,
which was caused by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (see “The Labor Market During the
COVID-19 Recession and its Recovery” section of this report). Pandemic-related layoffs and
reduced labor supply among some worker groups compounded the standard downward pressure
placed by recessions on job openings and hires. The number of job openings fell from 7.2 million
at the end of January 2020 to 4.6 million at the end of April 2020. The number of hires
experienced a similarly sharp decline from 6.0 million in January 2020 to 3.9 million in April
2020. Both indicators began to recover in May 2020, following the end of the recession. Job
openings and hires increased substantially in 2021. By December 2021, employers reported 10.9
million job openings at the end of the month (3.7 million more than in January 2020) and 6.3
million hires over the course of the month (300,000 more than in January 2020).

15 BLS, Handbook of Methods, “Chapter 18. Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey,” p. 8, https://www.bls.gov/
opub/hom/pdf/jlt-20130314.pdf.
16 This means there is a 90% chance that the sample value will be within 1.645 standard errors of the actual population
value. For additional discussion, see BLS, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, “Reliability of JOLTS
Estimates,” https://www.bls.gov/jlt/jltreliability.htm.
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Figure 1. Overall Job Openings and Hires
Seasonally adjusted monthly data, December 2000 to December 2021

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Series JTS000000000000000JOL
and JTS000000000000000HIL extracted using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: Shaded regions indicate recessionary periods as identified by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The 2001 recession started in March 2001 and ended in November 2001. The Great Recession started in
December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The 2020 recession started in February 2020 and ended in April 2020.
Figure 2 tracks the number of quits and layoffs between December 2000 and December 2021.
Similar to job openings and hiring, quits and layoffs exhibited month-over-month volatility and
responded to the business cycle. The number of quits is procyclical, increasing during economic
expansions, when job opportunities are more plentiful. Layoffs are countercyclical, rising during
recessions as business activity declines, and decreasing in expansions when labor demand tends
to be higher.17
The number of workers who quit their jobs declined during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,
from 3.6 million in January 2020 to 2.1 million in April 2020.18 After the 2020 recession, quits
increased, returning to their pre-recession level by March 2021 (approximately one year after the
2020 recession). Since then, quits have continued to increase. In December 2021, quits were at
4.3 million (770,000 more than in January 2020).
Layoffs increased sharply in the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic as businesses across
the country closed or curtailed operations in response to the spread of the virus. Layoffs increased
from 1.8 million in January 2020 to 13.0 million (the highest recorded value in the series) in
March 2020. The number of layoffs decreased rapidly in the months immediately following
March 2020, falling to 9.3 million in April 2020 (still substantially higher than the pre-recession
level) and then to 2.1 million in May 2020. Beginning in December 2020 and continuing into
2021, layoffs deceased further. In December 2021, layoffs were at 1.2 million (the lowest
recorded value in the series).

17 During the 2001 recession, the quits level remained above the layoffs level. However, as displayed in Figure 2, quits
decreased and layoffs increased modestly during this period, which is in accordance with the cyclical nature of these
two metrics.
18 The decline in quits was also likely related to the historic increase in layoffs that occurred during the initial months
of the COVID-19 pandemic. This rise in layoffs resulted in fewer overall jobs and, thus, fewer jobs that could be quit.
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Figure 2. Overall Quits and Layoffs
Seasonally adjusted monthly data, December 2000 to December 2021

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Series JTS000000000000000QUL
and JTS000000000000000LDL extracted using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: Layoffs include layoffs and discharges. Shaded regions indicate recessionary periods as identified by the
National Bureau of Economic Research. The 2001 recession started in March 2001 and ended in November
2001. The Great Recession started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The 2020 recession started in
February 2020 and ended in April 2020.
Average Monthly Growth Rates Following a Recession, over
Selected Time Periods
Figure 1 and Figure 2 display trends in job openings and labor turnover from December 2000 to
December 2021, a period that included three economic recessions. To some extent, each recession
has its own story, in terms of factors that precipitated the downturn as well as its breadth, depth,
and duration. But the most recent downturn was exceptional relative to others in recent history
along several dimensions; it resulted in massive job loss over a very short period. (A brief
discussion of the three recessions included in the JOLTS data series in the “The 2001, 2007-2009,
and 2020 Recessions” text box below). Consequently, of some interest is how recovery from the
most recent recession compared to others. The figures show that while there are some similarities
between indicators across each recessions (e.g., declines in job openings, hires, and quits), there
were differences as well. For example, Figure 1 illustrates unprecedented changes in labor
demand (as measured by job openings), in terms of magnitude, during and following the 2020
recession.
Interpreting changes in the number of job openings, hires, and separations between business
cycles is challenging for several reasons. For one, certain indicators (like job openings) have
increased over time such that a given change in magnitude translates into different rates of growth
over time.19 In addition, month-to-month indicator volatility means that estimated changes can be
highly sensitive to the selection of months that define the period of interest. In addition, the

19 This is because the base or starting point of the comparison is rising over time. For example, an increase of 10,000 in
job openings translates to a 10% increase when the base is 100,000 job openings and a 5% increase when the base is
200,000 job openings.
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durations of the three recessions and non-recessionary20 periods included in the JOLTS series
were not the same; for example, the 2007-2009 recession lasted 18 months, whereas the 2020
recession lasted 2 months. One way to address these issues and simplify comparisons is to use a
summary indicator such as the average monthly growth rate, which is the average rate of month-
to-month change in an indicator over a specific period. Such an indicator can be used to compare
average changes across a chosen period, and can serve to smooth the month-to-month volatility.
Given the difference in the reference periods for job openings and hires, comparing average
monthly growth in these indicators may also provide more meaningful comparisons than
considering growth in overall levels.21
The 2001, 2007-2009, and 2020 Recessions
The three recessions included in the JOLTS data series—the 2001 recession, the Great Recession (2007-2009),
and the 2020 recession—occurred in response to separate economic conditions, and differed in terms of their
depth, breadth, and duration, as well as their labor market impacts. The 2001 recession was comparatively short,
lasting eight months, and was a relatively mild downturn. Several factors contributed to this recession, including
sharply declining information technology (IT) investments and related production (fol owing an IT bubble), and
increased foreign competition for durable goods sales. Between March and November 2001, payrol employment
fell by 1.6 mil ion jobs, with losses concentrated primarily in Manufacturing and related sectors (Wholesale Trade,
Trucking, and Professional Services).22 Employment did not decline in all sectors, however; for example, payrol s
for the Health Services and Higher Education sectors increased markedly in 2001. The labor market recovery
from the 2001 recession was slower compared to previous recoveries. Employment continued to decline for
several months after the recession’s end and it took over three years for employment to return to its pre-
recessionary level.
The Great Recession (December 2007 to June 2009) was a considerably longer and deeper downturn. Payrol
employment fell by about 7.4 mil ion jobs over the 18-month recession, and the unemployment rate increased
markedly.23 The construction and manufacturing industries were hit particularly hard, losing about 1.5 mil ion jobs
(a 19.8% decline) and 2 mil ion jobs (a 14.7% decline), respectively, between December 2007 and June 2009. Large
construction job losses fol owed the housing market col apse, a prominent driver of the recession. The
subsequent and severe financial crisis drastically curtailed demand for manufactured goods and spending more
generally. Losses were not exclusive to the goods-producing sectors; the service-producing industries lost 3.3% of
employment, which—while small compared to Construction and Manufacturing sector losses—represented, at
that time, the largest recession-related job loss in the service sectors since 1945.24 Labor market recovery was
slow by historical standards. The economy did not consistently add jobs (on net) until March 2010, and did not
return to December 2007 levels until March 2014.25

20 A non-recessionary month is a month in which the U.S. economy was not in a recession. A non-recessionary period
is an aggregation of non-recessionary months; that is, a collection of months for which the U.S. economy was not in a
recession.
21 The number of job openings in any given month reflects both new job openings as well as those carried over from
prior months. The number of hires includes only those that are counted during a specific month. While the average
monthly growth rate does not eliminate the impact of these distinct methods of measurement, it does help to reduce its
impact.
22 A discussion of sector-level employment impacts of the 2001 recession is in David S. Langdon, Terence M.
McMenamin, and Thomas J. Krolik, “U.S. Labor Market in 2001: the Economy Enters a Recession,” Monthly Labor
Review, February 2002, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2002/02/art1full.pdf.
23 The unemployment rate increased from 5.0% to 9.5% between December 2007 and June 2009, and reached its peak
at 10.0% in October 2009 (four months after the recession ended).
24 An in-depth discussion of the labor market impacts of the Great Recession, including sector-level losses for each
recession since 1945, is in Christopher J. Goodman and Steven M. Mance, “Employment Loss and the 2007–09
Recession: A Review,” Monthly Labor Review, 2011, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/04/art1full.pdf.
25 Discussion of labor market conditions in the period following the Great Recession is in CRS Report R45330, Labor
Market Patterns Since 2007, by Sarah A. Donovan and Marc Labonte.
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The most recent recession (February to April 2020) during the COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by massive
employment losses.26 Payrol employment fell by more than 22 mil ion jobs between February and April 2020.
Despite considerable labor market recovery over the rest of the year, payrol employment in December 2020
remained more than 9 mil ion jobs below December 2019 levels, representing the largest annual decline since BLS
started col ecting payrol data from establishments. Job loss was widespread, but some sectors were more affected
than others. For example, whereas overall employment fell by nearly 15% between February and April 2020,
employment in the Leisure and Hospitality sector was cut nearly in half (a 48.6% decline) and the Other Services
sector (which includes private household workers, repair services, temporary parking, and other services) fell by
23.7%.
Figure 3 compares the average monthly growth rates for job openings and hires over the 12-
month periods that followed the 2001 recession, the Great Recession (2007-2009), and the 2020
recession.27 The figure also includes the average monthly growth rate for job openings and hires
for all non-recessionary months in the JOLTS data series to serve as a benchmark for monthly
growth in an average non-recessionary month.28 A comparison of the 12-month average growth
rate to the average growth rate over the full non-recessionary period can also be used to shed light
on whether and how the growth rates evolved over a longer (non-recessionary) period.29
In the 12-month period following the 2001 recession, the average monthly growth rate for both
job openings (-0.5%) and hires (-0.2%) was negative. For the 12-month period that followed the
Great Recession, the average monthly growth rate for both job openings (1.2%) and hires (1.1%)
was positive. The 12-month period after the 2020 recession had relatively high average monthly
growth rates for both job openings (6.1%) and hires (6.8%). These patterns appear to reflect the
relative severity of the three recessions and the speed of their labor market recoveries. That is,
average monthly growth rates were lowest (and negative) for the 2001 recession, arguably the
mildest recession of the three (with fewer job losses). The largest job losses occurred during the
2020 recession, but recovery has been relatively swift (although incomplete), and consequently
growth rates were relatively high as laid-off workers retook their jobs and employers hired new
workers.
As noted earlier, as a general pattern, job openings and hires tend to decline during recessions and
rise during recoveries, but there are some differences in these patterns across the three recessions
covered in the JOLTS series. Job openings continued to decline for about 20 months following
the conclusion of the 2001 recession; thereafter, job openings recovered at a strong pace for about
30 months before stabilizing to a slower pace. In contrast, job openings grew at a positive rate
soon after the end of the Great Recession, and thereafter had a step-like pattern in which job
openings alternated between periods of relatively swift growth and periods of little growth. In
short, this means that growth rates vary over non-recessionary periods; they differ from recession-

26 See discussion in Ryan Ansell and John P. Mullins, “COVID-19 Ends Longest Employment Recovery and
Expansion in CES History, Causing Unprecedented Job Losses in 2020,” Monthly Labor Review, June 2021,
https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2021/article/covid-19-ends-longest-employment-expansion-in-ces-history.htm.
27 The 2001 recession started in March 2001 and ended in November 2001. The Great Recession spanned December
2007 to June 2009. The 2020 recession began in February 2020 and ended in April 2020. Recovery and expansionary
periods following each recession varied as well. Analysis of average monthly growth rates is confined to the 12-month
period following each of the three recessions to avoid capturing economic conditions at different stages of a non-
recessionary period.
28 These non-recessionary periods include December 2000 to February 2001, December 2001 to November 2007, July
2009 to January 2020, and May 2020 to December 2021.
29 The average over all non-recessionary periods is used as the comparison indicator instead of the average over the
entire JOLTS data series because of the cyclicality of the JOLTS indicators. The procyclical indicators grow during
non-recessionary periods, and decline during recessionary periods. (The opposite is the case for the countercyclical
indicators.) Therefore, if recessionary months were included, the comparison indicator would measure the net effect of
opposing forces and it would fail to capture average growth during periods of economic growth.
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to-recession, and change over a given period of recovery. For this reason, average monthly
growth rates across all non-recessionary periods in the JOLTS data series are not expected to
align with rates during the 12-month period following each recession. Nonetheless, the average
growth rate across all non-recessionary periods can be a useful yardstick (i.e., as a common
reference point across a period of economic growth).
Across all non-recessionary periods in the JOLTS data series, the average monthly growth rate in
job openings was 1.1% and in hires was 0.7%. Beginning with the 12-month period following the
2001 recession, the average monthly growth rate in both job openings (-0.5%) and hires (-0.2%)
over this period was well below the series (non-recessionary) average for these indicators. This is
especially the case for job openings, where the average monthly growth rate following the 2001
recession was 1.6 percentage points below its series average. In the 12-month period following
the Great Recession, the average monthly growth rate for both job openings (1.2%) and hires
(1.1%) was similar to their series averages. For the 12-month period following the 2020
recession, the average monthly growth rate for both job openings (6.1%) and hires (6.8%)
exhibited the greatest deviations from their series averages.
Figure 3. Post-Recession Average Monthly Growth Rate in Hires and Job Openings
Average seasonally adjusted monthly data for the 12-month period following the last three recessions

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Series JTS000000000000000JOL
and JTS000000000000000HIL extracted using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: The dashed lines show the average monthly growth rates in hires (0.7%, dark blue) and job openings
(1.1%, light blue) in all non-recessionary periods included in the JOLTS data series.
Figure 4 displays the average monthly growth rate for quits and layoffs over the 12-month
periods following the 2001 recession, the Great Recession, and the 2020 recession. The figure
also includes the average monthly growth rate for quits and layoffs for all non-recessionary
months in the JOLTS data series to capture the monthly growth rate in an average non-
recessionary month. Quits declined, on average, during the 12-month period after the 2001
recession (i.e., a negative average monthly growth rate for quits, -0.4%); by contrast, there was a
positive 0.8% growth rate observed across non-recessionary periods. This is likely due to both the
smaller decrease in quits during the 2001 recession, compared to the Great Recession and the
2020 recession, and the continued decrease in quits following the end of the 2001 recession. The
growth rate for layoffs in the 12-month period after the 2001 recession was -1.1%, a sharper
decrease than the -0.6% rate observed across non-recessionary periods. As seen in Figure 4,
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layoffs tend to decrease quickly in the months immediately after the end of a recession and then
stay relatively stable during the rest of the non-recessionary period.
The 12-month period after the Great Recession had an average monthly growth rate for quits of
1.2%, which was larger than the growth rate observed across non-recessionary periods, and an
average monthly growth rate for layoffs of -0.4%. Compared to the 2001 recession, the 12-month
period following the Great Recession exhibited a larger increase in quits but a smaller decrease in
layoffs. The greater decrease in the 2001 recession’s layoff growth rate was due in large part to
the -14.8% decline in layoffs in December 2001, the first month after the end of the recession.
That was a greater (i.e., more negative) decrease than any month in the 12-month period
following the Great Recession.
The 12-month period after the 2020 recession had a significantly greater increase in quits (5.8%)
and decrease in layoffs (-8.9%) compared to the 2001 recession and the Great Recession. Both of
these growth rates were also far greater than their respective rates observed across non-
recessionary periods. In accordance with the trend in job openings and hires, the growth rates in
quits and layoffs in the 12-month period after the 2020 recession showed a quicker, and larger,
recovery compared to the prior two recessions.
Figure 4. Post-Recession Average Monthly Growth Rate in Quits and Layoffs
Average seasonally adjusted monthly data for the 12-month period following the last three recessions

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Series JTS000000000000000QUL
and JTS000000000000000LDL extracted using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: The dashed lines show the average monthly growth rates in quits (0.8%, yellow) and layoffs (-0.6%,
orange) in all non-recessionary periods included in the JOLTS data series.
Job Openings and Labor Turnover by Sector
Sector-level data on the number of job openings, hires, quits, and layoffs provide a more detailed
examination of job openings and labor turnover in the U.S. labor market. This section presents
analysis on long-term trends in job openings and labor turnover by sector. In addition, this section
analyzes the proportion of job openings and labor turnover to total (sector-level) employment to
control for differences in sector size (in terms of employment).
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Long-Term Trends in the Number of Job Openings, Hires, and
Separations by Sector
To aid in comparing patterns across sectors, the figures in this section present trends for relatively
large employment sectors (large sectors) and relatively small employment sectors (small sectors)
separately. Sectors are divided based on their overall employment levels in January 2020, which
are displayed in the Appendix.30 This is done solely to provide clarity that might be lost if the
sectors were analyzed together in a single visual. Moreover, for certain quits and layoffs graphics,
the Leisure and Hospitality sector is graphed separately from other sectors. The Leisure and
Hospitality sector experienced a substantially larger number of layoffs during the 2020 recession
and thus occasionally requires a separate scale in order to be meaningfully visualized.
Figure 5 displays the number of job openings and hires between December 2000 and December
2021 for the six large sectors. In general, the large sector patterns for job openings and hires
adhere to those established for the national-level data in Figure 1. Specifically, there was clear
volatility in these estimates from month-to-month, the indicators were procyclical, and there was
a general upward trend in job openings and hiring levels over time for each sector. The trends in
Figure 5 also reflect the national data in that the rate of growth in job openings was greater than
the rate of growth in hires for almost every month in the time series across every sector. This does
not mean that the number of job openings must have been greater than the number of hires.
Therefore, for sectors like the Leisure and Hospitality sector, while the number of job openings
was less than the number of hires for most of the time series, job openings were still growing at a
quicker rate than hires over most of the period.
Two caveats apply to these sector-level data. First, there are limitations to comparing the number
of job openings to the number of hires due to differences in reference period (i.e., job openings
tends to be a cumulative measure, whereas hires is a distinctly monthly measure). Second, certain
sectors are more likely to have a higher number of job openings and hires than others due to
differences in employment size and the structure of labor demand in these sectors. This is
addressed in more detail in the “Average Monthly Ratios of Job Openings and Labor Turnover to
Employment” section.

30 For the purposes of this report, a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) supersector is considered
to be large if it employed over 10 million individuals in January 2020. A supersector is considered to be small if it
employed less than 10 million individuals in January 2020.
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Figure 5. Large Sector Job Openings and Hires
Seasonally adjusted monthly data, December 2000 to December 2021

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Multiple data series extracted
using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: Shaded regions indicate recessionary periods as identified by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The 2001 recession started in March 2001 and ended in November 2001. The Great Recession started in
December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The 2020 recession started in February 2020 and ended in April 2020.
Figure 6 displays the number of quits and layoffs between December 2000 and December 2021
for large sectors. The peak layoff level in the Leisure and Hospitality sector (5.2 million in March
2020) was an outlier compared to all other sectors. As such, the Leisure and Hospitality sector (a
large sector) was graphed separately in Figure 7. Sector-level patterns in the levels of quits and
layoffs illustrated in Figure 6 are similar to those seen in the national-level data. In particular,
there was significant month-over-month volatility in these estimates, and for each large sector the
number of quits had a procyclical pattern and the number of layoffs had a countercyclical pattern.
During the 2020 recession, all large sectors experienced a decrease in quits and an increase in
layoffs. However, the magnitude of these changes varied by sector. After the 2020 recession, quits
and layoffs in all large sectors quickly returned to near pre-recession levels. In December 2021,
all large sectors had quit levels above their pre-recession levels and all large sectors except
Education and Health Services31 had layoff levels below their pre-recession levels. Recent trends
in quits and layoffs are discussed at the end of this report.

31 The Education and Health Services sector had 169,000 layoffs in December 2021, an increase of 5,000 from its pre-
recession level in January 2020 (164,000).
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Figure 6. Large Sector Quits and Layoffs
Seasonally adjusted monthly data, December 2000 to December 2021

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Multiple data series extracted
using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: Layoffs include layoffs and discharges. Shaded regions indicate recessionary periods as identified by the
National Bureau of Economic Research. The 2001 recession started in March 2001 and ended in November
2001. The Great Recession started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The 2020 recession started in
February 2020 and ended in April 2020.
Figure 7 displays the number of quits and layoffs in the Leisure and Hospitality sector between
December 2000 and December 2021. Like the other large sectors, the Leisure and Hospitality
sector exhibited month-to-month volatility in the number of quits and layoffs, and had a
procyclical pattern for quits and a countercyclical pattern for layoffs. Layoffs in the Leisure and
Hospitality sector peaked at 5.2 million in March 2020, and were substantially higher than all
other sectors. Quits decreased from 739,000 in January 2020 to 316,000 in April 2020. After the
2020 recession, quits and layoffs in the sector quickly returned to near pre-recession levels. In
December 2021, quits were higher than the pre-recession level and layoffs were lower than the
pre-recession level.
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Figure 7. Leisure and Hospitality Sector Quits and Layoffs
Seasonally adjusted monthly data, December 2000 to December 2021

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Series JTS700000000000000QUL
and JTS700000000000000LDL extracted using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: Layoffs include layoffs and discharges. Shaded regions indicate recessionary periods as identified by the
National Bureau of Economic Research. The 2001 recession started in March 2001 and ended in November
2001. The Great Recession started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The 2020 recession started in
February 2020 and ended in April 2020.
Figure 8 displays the number of job openings and hires between December 2000 and December
2021 for the small sectors. It shows that the trends for small sectors also adhered to the three
patterns discussed for national-level data for job openings and hires (i.e., month-to-month
volatility, procyclical patterns, and generally upward long-term trends). Despite those shared
features, small sectors varied widely from each other in the numbers of job openings and hires,
complicating cross-sector comparisons.32 (For the Federal Government sector, the large spikes in
job openings and hires in 2010 and again in 2020 can be attributed to the job openings and
temporary hires associated with the Decennial Census conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.)

32 This is addressed in the “Average Monthly Ratios of Job Openings and Labor Turnover to Employment” section of
this report.
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Figure 8. Small Sector Job Openings and Hires
Seasonally adjusted monthly data, December 2000 to December 2021

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Multiple data series extracted
using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: Shaded regions indicate recessionary periods as identified by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The 2001 recession started in March 2001 and ended in November 2001. The Great Recession started in
December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The 2020 recession started in February 2020 and ended in April 2020.
For the Federal Government sector, the large spikes in job openings and hires in 2010 and again in 2020 can be
attributed to the job openings and temporary hires associated with the Decennial Census conducted by the U.S.
Census Bureau.
Figure 9 displays the number of quits and layoffs between December 2000 and December 2021
for the small sectors. These data adhere to the trends that were identified in the national-level data
(i.e., month-to-month volatility, and cyclical patterns). There was also a significant amount of
variation in the number of quits and layoffs across small sectors. As observed in the job openings
and hiring data, this can make visual comparisons across the sectors difficult. (For the Federal
Government sector, the spike in layoffs in 2010 and 2020 can be attributed to the expiration of
temporary positions associated with the Decennial Census conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.)
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Figure 9. Small Sector Quits and Layoffs
Seasonally adjusted monthly data, December 2000 to December 2021

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Multiple data series extracted
using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: Layoffs include layoffs and discharges. Shaded regions indicate recessionary periods as identified by the
National Bureau of Economic Research. The 2001 recession started in March 2001 and ended in November
2001. The Great Recession started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The 2020 recession started in
February 2020 and ended in April 2020. For the Federal Government sector, the spikes in layoffs in 2010 and
2020 can be attributed to the expiration of temporary positions associated with the Decennial Census
conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The level of employment in each sector is one significant factor that affects these numbers—if a
sector employs more workers, it will likely also have a greater number of job openings, hires,
quits, and layoffs. In addition, certain sectors tend to have greater labor turnover than others.33
The ratios of job openings to employment (see Figure 10) and labor turnover to employment (see
Figure 11) can provide additional context to whether or not the variation in levels was purely a
factor of sector employment levels.
Average Monthly Ratios of Job Openings and Labor Turnover to
Employment
Figure 10 displays the average monthly ratio of job openings to employment across all non-
recessionary months between December 2000 and December 2021 for both large and small
sectors. By controlling for differences in employment levels, the figure highlights per-worker
difference in the number of monthly job openings across sectors. For example, the State and
Local Government sector, despite having the fourth-highest employment amongst the sectors, had

33 See, for example, the discussion in BLS, “Which industries need workers? Exploring differences in labor market
activity,” Monthly Labor Review, January 2016, at https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/which-industries-need-
workers-exploring-differences-in-labor-market-activity.htm.
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the lowest ratio of job openings to employment. This means that job openings made up a much
smaller share of employment in this industry than they did in a sector like the Professional and
Business Services sector. On the other hand, the Leisure and Hospitality sector had the second
highest ratio of job openings to employment despite having the fifth highest level of employment.
In short, the ratios in Figure 10 emphasize that the number of individuals employed in a
particular industry is not the only factor determining the number of job openings for that industry,
and they highlight differences in the intensity of labor demand (as measured by job openings)
across sectors.
Figure 10. Average Ratio of Job Openings to Employment, All Sectors
Average seasonally adjusted monthly data for all non-recessionary periods between December 2000 and
December 2021

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Multiple data series extracted
using the JOLTS and Current Employment Statistics data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: To determine the ratio of job openings to employment, the first step is to divide job openings by
employment for each non-recessionary month between December 2000 and December 2021. The second step
involves determining the average of these monthly ratios. The result is then multiplied by 100 to get the value
displayed in the figure.
Figure 11 displays the average monthly ratio of labor turnover (i.e., the sum of hires and
separations in a given month) to employment across all non-recessionary months between
December 2000 and December 2021 for both large and small sectors.34 Industry-level labor
turnover gauges the movement of workers into (through hires) and out of (through separations) a

34 The labor turnover figure is separate from Figure 10 because hires and separations are measured over a specific
period while the number of job openings accumulates over time.
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particular industry, and reflects a range of industry characteristics such as workplace culture and
employee satisfaction, career path structures, and industry growth. Similar to the ratio of job
openings to employment (Figure 10), the ratio of labor turnover to employment provides a way
to compare labor turnover across sectors of different sizes (in terms of employment). A higher
(lower) ratio of labor turnover to employment indicates greater (less) movement into and out of
jobs in a given sector, per employee. For example, the Leisure and Hospitality sector, while
having moderate employment levels, had the greatest ratio of hires and separations to
employment. On the other hand, the Education and Health Services sector, while having high
employment levels, had a relatively low ratio of hires and separations to employment. This
suggests that labor turnover is higher, as a share of employment. Both of the ratios in this section
emphasize the importance of considering the relative prevalence of job openings and labor
turnover in a particular sector when comparing JOLTS metrics across sectors.35
Figure 11. Average Ratio of Labor Turnover to Employment, All Sectors
Average seasonally adjusted monthly data for all non-recessionary periods between December 2000 and
December 2021

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Multiple data series extracted
using the JOLTS and Current Employment Statistics data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.

35 Industry rankings for labor turnover ratios (Figure 11) do not always mirror those for job opening ratios (Figure 10)
during non-recessionary periods. For example, the construction industry has a relatively low job openings ratio and a
relatively high turnover ratio. This pattern could perhaps indicate that workers’ movement in and out of construction
jobs is elevated in non-recessionary times (i.e., as construction projects begin and end, and workers change jobs in
search of the most attractive project), and that construction firms may be particularly successful in filling openings
during these periods (e.g., by offering competitive pay and benefits) and consequently relatively few openings remain
at the end of the month.
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Notes: To determine the ratio of labor turnover to employment, the first step is to divide the sum of hires and
separations by employment for each month between December 2000 and December 2021. The second step
involves determining the average of these monthly ratios. The result is then multiplied by 100 to get the value
displayed in the figure.
Average Monthly Growth Rates Following a Recession, by Sector
Figure 12 displays the average monthly growth rate in job openings and hires, by sector, over the
12-month periods that followed each of the last three recessions. (A brief discussion of these
recessions is in the “The 2001, 2007-2009, and 2020 Recessions” text box.) Similar to Figure 3,
each sector’s average post-recession monthly growth rate is included to gauge whether and how
the 12-month post-recession average monthly growth rate in job openings and hires differed from
the average post-recession monthly growth rate. The Federal Government sector is excluded from
Figure 12 because of the unique impact of the Decennial Census on the number of job openings
and hires for both the July 2009 to June 2010 period and the May 2020 to April 2021 period (see
Figure A-2 for a stand-alone visual for the Federal Government sector).
Beginning with the 12-month period following the 2001 recession, there was some variation
across sectors in both the direction and magnitude of the average monthly growth rates for job
openings and hires over this period. For example, the Construction sector had a negative average
monthly growth rate for job openings (-1.7%) and hires (-0.5%), whereas the Professional and
Business Services sector had a positive growth rate for job openings (0.8%) and hires (0.4%).
Almost every sector had an average monthly growth rate in both job openings and hires that was
below their series average for non-recessionary periods, likely reflecting the well-documented
slowness of the recovery from the 2001 recession.
Certain sectors experienced much lower job openings and hires growth rates than others during
the 12-month recovery period following the Great Recession. For example, the Other Services
sector had a negative average monthly growth rate in hires (-1.0%) and on average experienced
no growth in job openings. Both of these values were below the average monthly growth rate in
job openings (2.9%) and hires (2.1%) for all non-recessionary months in the JOLTS series for this
sector. The Education and Health Services sector and the State and Local Government sector were
also below their respective series average. By contrast, the Mining and Logging sector exhibited
high average monthly growth rates for both hires (5.0%) and job openings (13.9%) in the wake of
the Great Recession. Both metrics were well above the average monthly growth rates for these
indicators for all non-recessionary months in the entire JOLTS series for this sector (2.0% and
5.3%, respectively). Other sectors with similar patterns were the Financial Activities sector, the
Manufacturing sector, and the Professional and Business Services sector, all of which experienced
large losses during the recession. In general, growth rates for sector-level job openings tended to
exceed their respective hire rates.
The sector-level average monthly growth rates in job openings and hires were more uniform in
their direction and magnitude in the 12-month period following the 2020 recession as compared
to the 12-months periods following the prior two recessions. Almost every sector had an average
monthly growth rate in job openings and hires for the 12-month period that followed the 2020
recession that was above its respective average monthly growth rate for a non-recessionary
period. The Leisure and Hospitality sector and the Other Services sector led the way with
respective average monthly growth rates in hires at 29.2% and 22.3%, as well as respective
average monthly growth rates in job openings at 15.8% and 10.5%. As noted earlier, these sectors
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both endured heavy job losses during the brief 2020 recession.36 The Information sector—the one
sector with an average monthly growth rate for job openings that was below its average monthly
growth rate for a non-recessionary period (1.4% versus 2.9%)—had a high average monthly
growth rate in hires (12.6%), which was much higher than its average monthly growth rate for a
non-recessionary period (1.7%).

36 Between February and April 2020, employment in the Leisure and Hospitality sector declined by 48.6% and the
Other Services sector (which includes private household workers, repair services, temporary parking, and other
services) fell by 23.7%.
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Figure 12. Average Monthly Growth Rate in Hires and Job Openings, All Sectors
Average seasonally adjusted monthly data for the 12-month periods following the last three recessions

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Multiple data series extracted
using the JOLTs data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: The dashed lines show the average monthly growth rates in hires (dark blue) and job openings (light
blue), for each sector, in all non-recessionary periods included in the JOLTS data series.
Figure 13 displays the average monthly growth rate for quits and layoffs, by sector, over the 12-
month periods that followed each of the last three recessions. Each sector’s average post-
recession monthly growth rate is included to gauge whether and how the 12-month post-recession
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average monthly growth rate in quits and layoffs differed from the average post-recession
monthly growth rate. The Federal Government sector is excluded from the figure because of the
unique impact of the Decennial Census on the number of quits and layoffs for both the July 2009
to June 2010 period and the May 2020 to April 2021 period (see Figure A-2 for a stand-alone
visual for the Federal Government sector).
There was considerable variability among sectors in the average monthly growth rates for quits
and layoffs in the 12-month period following the 2001 recession. Certain sectors (such as Mining
and Logging and Financial Activities) had a positive average monthly growth rate for quits, while
others (such as Construction and Leisure and Hospitality) had negative growth rates. All sectors
except Mining and Logging and Professional and Business Services had a growth rate for quits
that was below the average rate across all non-recessionary periods between December 2000 and
December 2021, indicating a slower recovery of quits. Similarly, some sectors experienced
negative growth rates for layoffs (see Manufacturing and Professional and Business Services),
while others had positive growth rates for layoffs (see Other Services and State and Local
Government). All sectors except State and Local Government had a lower growth rate in layoffs
compared to the growth rate observed across non-recessionary periods. This is consistent with the
earlier observation that layoffs tend to decrease in the immediate months after the end of a
recession and then stay relatively stable during the rest of the non-recessionary period.
A common pattern across sectors did not emerge for the average monthly growth rates for quits
and layoffs during the 12-month period following the Great Recession. Each sector except
Leisure and Hospitality had a positive growth rate for quits but the magnitude ranged from 0.6%
(Education and Health Services) to 8.6% (Information). Unlike the 2001 recession, all sectors
except Leisure and Hospitality and Education and Health Services had a higher growth rate for
quits compared to the average rate across all non-recessionary periods. Six sectors had negative
growth rates for layoffs and five sectors had positive growth rates. Seven sectors had a lower
growth rate in layoffs than the growth rate observed across non-recessionary periods and four
sectors had higher growth rates.
The 12-month period following the 2020 recession showed a quicker and more uniform average
growth in quits and layoffs across sectors. Each sector had a high average monthly growth rate
for quits that was larger than the growth rate observed across all non-recessionary periods. Every
sector also had a growth rate for quits in the 12-month period following the 2020 recession that
was greater than the 12-month periods following the two prior recessions.37 Every sector except
for Other Services had a growth rate for layoffs that was below the growth rate observed across
non-recessionary periods. With the exception of Leisure and Hospitality and Other Services,
layoff growth rates in each sector were negative and lower than the 12-month averages for the
periods following the prior two recessions. The Leisure and Hospitality sector had a positive
growth rate for layoffs (0.5%); growth was slightly above the rate in the 12-month period
following the 2001 recession (0.2%). The Other Services sector had a notably high growth rate
for layoffs (9.9%). However, this rate was driven by an outlier observation in September 2020
when layoffs in the Other Services sectors increased from 15,000 to 52,000, a 247% increase. If
September 2020 were to be excluded from analysis, the Other Services sector would have had
a -11.6% average growth rate for layoffs in the 12-month period following the 2020 recession.

37 The average monthly growth rate for quits in the Mining and Logging sector was 10.95% in the 12-month period
following the 2020 recession, which was slightly above the 10.85% rate observed in the 12-month period following the
2001 recession. Values are rounded to the nearest tenth in Figure 13.
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Figure 13. Average Monthly Growth Rate in Quits and Layoffs, All Sectors
Average seasonally adjusted monthly data for the 12-month periods following the last three recessions

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Multiple data series extracted
using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
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Notes: The dashed lines show the average monthly growth rates in quits (yellow) and layoffs (orange), for each
sector, in all non-recessionary periods included in the JOLTS data series.
Recent Job Openings and Labor Turnover Data
As labor demand recovers from the initial shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, more attention has
been paid to job openings and labor turnover data. Reports of job openings reaching high levels
(the highest that have been seen in the JOLTS data series) have bolstered concerns about labor
shortages.38 This section examines average monthly growth rates for job openings and labor
turnover over the most recent six-month period for which data are available. As of the cover date
of this report, the most current BLS JOLTS data are for December 2021, and the six-month period
from July 2021 to December 2021 occurred 15-20 months after the 2020 recession concluded in
April 2020. These rates are compared to similar six-month periods (occurring 15-20 months
following the recession) for the 2001 and 2007-2009 recessions, as well as to the average post-
recession monthly growth rate. This analysis is conducted at the national and sector levels.
Figure 14 displays the average monthly growth rate in job openings and hires for the 15th to 20th
months of the most recent three non-recessionary periods, and the average monthly growth rate in
job openings (1.1%) and hires (0.7%) across all non-recessionary periods in the JOLTS data
series. Job openings increased at an average monthly rate of 1.3% and hires decreased at an
average monthly rate of 1.4% over the most recent six-month period. The rate for job openings
(1.3%) was very similar to the average monthly growth rate in job openings for all non-
recessionary periods (1.1%) as well as the average monthly growth rate for the same six-month
period following the 2007-2009 recession (1.3%). The rate for hires (-1.4%) was well below the
average monthly growth rate across all non-recessionary periods for hires (0.7%), and very
similar to the average monthly growth rate in hires for the same period following the 2001
recession (-1.4%).

38 See, for example, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “Businesses Struggle to Find and Keep Workers Amid Record-High
Job Openings,” September 2, 2021, https://www.uschamber.com/workforce/businesses-struggle-find-and-keep-
workers-amid-record-high-job-openings; and Eli Rosenberg, Abha Bhattarai and Andrew Van Dam, “A record number
of workers are quitting their jobs, empowered by new leverage,” The Washington Post, October 12, 2021,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/12/jolts-workers-quitting-august-pandemic/.
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Figure 14. Six-Month Average Monthly Growth Rate in Hires and Job Openings
Average seasonally adjusted data for the six-month period that occurred 15-20 months following the start
of a non-recessionary period

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Series JTS000000000000000JOL
and JTS000000000000000HIL extracted using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: The dashed lines show the average monthly growth rates in hires (0.7%, dark blue) and job openings
(1.1%, light blue) in all non-recessionary periods included in the JOLTS data series.
Figure 15 displays the average monthly growth rate in quits and layoffs for the 15th to 20th
months of the most recent three non-recessionary periods, and the average monthly growth rate in
quits (0.8%) and layoffs (-0.6%) across all non-recessionary periods in the JOLTS data series.
The most recent six-month period (July 2021 to December 2021) had a higher growth rate for
quits (2.0%) and a more negative growth rate for layoffs (-2.3%) compared to the similar six-
month periods in the prior two non-recessionary periods. Average growth rates in quits and
layoffs over the July-December 2021 period were more pronounced than the average rates in non-
recessionary periods.
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Figure 15. Six-Month Average Monthly Growth Rate in Quits and Layoffs
Average seasonally adjusted data for the six-month period that occurred 15-20 months following the start
of a non-recessionary period

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Series JTS000000000000000QUL
and JTS000000000000000LDL extracted using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: The dashed lines show the average monthly growth rates in quits (0.8%, yellow) and layoffs (-0.6%,
orange) in all non-recessionary periods included in the JOLTS data series.
Figure 16 shows the sector-level average monthly growth rates in job openings and hires for the
15th to 20th months of the three most recent non-recessionary periods, and the sector-level average
monthly growth rate for these two indicators during non-recessionary periods. A few points of
interest stand out. There are six sectors39 for which the average monthly growth rate in job
openings over the period of July 2021 to December 2021 was below the same value over all non-
recessionary periods. These sectors reflect a trend in the national-level data of slowing growth in
the number of job openings. The sectors for which the average monthly growth rate in job
openings over the period of July 2021 to December 2021 was above its non-recessionary average
were the Education and Health Services sector, Financial Activities sector, Information sector,
Mining and Logging sector, State and Local Government sector, and Federal Government sector.
On the hiring side, 9 of the 12 sectors had average monthly growth rates for the July 2021 to
December 2021 period that were below their non-recessionary average. Three sectors—the
Information sector, Financial Activities sector, and Federal Government sector—had above-
average growth rates in hiring for this period.

39 These six sectors include the Construction sector, Leisure and Hospitality sector, Manufacturing sector, Other
Services sector, Professional and Business Services sector, and the Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sector.
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Figure 16. Six-Month Average Monthly Growth Rate in Hires and Job Openings,
All Sectors
Average seasonally adjusted data for the six-month period that occurred 15-20 months following the start
of a non-recessionary period

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Multiple data series extracted
using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: The dashed lines show the average monthly growth rates in hires (dark blue) and job openings (light
blue), for each sector, in all non-recessionary periods included in the JOLTS data series.
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Figure 17 shows the sector-level average monthly growth rates in quits and layoffs for the 15th to
20th months of the three most recent non-recessionary periods, and the sector-level average
monthly growth rate for these two indicators during non-recessionary periods. The growth rates in
quits and layoffs showed considerable variability both within sectors and between sectors. In
general, most sectors had a high growth rate in quits during the most recent six-month period
(July 2021 to December 2021). All sectors had a positive growth rate in quits and 6 of the 11
sectors had a growth rate in quits that was above the rate for all non-recessionary periods between
December 2000 and December 2021. Seven of the eleven sectors had growth rates in layoffs that
were below the average rate for non-recessionary periods. Six sectors had negative growth rates
in layoffs and five sectors had positive growth rates. Of the sectors with negative growth in
layoffs during the most recent six-month period, all except for Manufacturing and Mining and
Logging had a growth rate in layoffs that was lower than both the similar six-month periods of
the prior two non-recessionary periods. The Federal Government sector is excluded from the
figure because of the unique impact of the Decennial Census on the number of quits and layoffs
for both the September 2010 to February 2011 period and the July 2021 to December 2021 period
(see Figure A-4 for a stand-alone visual for the Federal Government sector).
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Figure 17. Six-Month Average Monthly Growth Rate in Quits and Layoffs, All Sectors
Average seasonally adjusted data for the six-month period that occurred 15-20 months following the start
of a non-recessionary period

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Multiple data series extracted
using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
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Labor Turnover Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Notes: The dashed lines show the average monthly growth rates in quits (yellow) and layoffs (orange), for each
sector, in all non-recessionary periods included in the JOLTS data series.
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Appendix. Supplementary Figures
Figure A-1. January 2020 Employment by Sector
Seasonally adjusted data

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Notes: One red square equals 1 mil ion jobs. The squares reflect employment levels that are rounded up;
therefore, the Mining and Logging sector has one red square while only having an employment level of 700,000.
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Labor Turnover Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Figure A-2. Average Monthly Growth Rate in Hires and Job Openings, Federal
Government
Average seasonally adjusted monthly data for the 12-month periods following the last three recessions

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Series JTS910000000000000JOL
and JTS910000000000000HIL extracted using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: The dashed lines show the average monthly growth rates in hires (5.8%, dark blue) and job openings
(3.9%, light blue), for the Federal Government sector, in all non-recessionary periods included in the JOLTS data
series.
Figure A-3. Average Monthly Growth Rate in Quits and Layoffs, Federal Government
Average seasonally adjusted monthly data for the 12-month periods following the last three recessions

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Series JTS910000000000000QUL
and JTS910000000000000LDL extracted using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: The dashed lines show the average monthly growth rates in quits (4.0%, yellow) and layoffs (9.7%,
orange), for the Federal Government sector, in all non-recessionary periods included in the JOLTS data series.
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Figure A-4. Six-Month Average Monthly Growth Rate in Quits and Layoffs, Federal
Government
Average seasonally adjusted data for the six-month period that occurred 11-16 months following the start
of a non-recessionary period

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Series JTS910000000000000QUL
and JTS910000000000000LDL extracted using the JOLTS data series at https://www.bls.gov/data/.
Notes: The dashed lines show the average monthly growth rates in quits (4.0%, yellow) and layoffs (9.7%,
orange), for the Federal Government sector, in all non-recessionary periods included in the JOLTS data series.

Author Information

Paul D. Romero
Sarah A. Donovan
Research Assistant
Specialist in Labor Policy

Isaac A. Nicchitta

Research Assistant

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Labor Turnover Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Disclaimer
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shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
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its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
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