What is the JOLTS report?
JOLTS counts US job openings, hires, quits and layoffs. Why does it arrive a month late, and how does it fit next to payrolls and jobless claims?
JOLTS is the US report on job openings: how many positions employers are trying to fill, and how many people are being hired, quitting or being laid off. It is a month older than nonfarm payrolls, but it shows something payrolls cannot — how much demand for workers is still waiting to be met.
What does JOLTS measure?
The name stands for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, run by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Its monthly estimates include:
- Job openings — positions employers are actively trying to fill. This is the headline number.
- Hires — people added to payrolls during the month.
- Quits — people who left their job voluntarily.
- Layoffs and discharges — separations the employer started.
- Total separations — everyone who left, for any reason.
How late does it arrive?
About a month after the month it describes. The release on 1 September 2026 carried July's data; the jobs report three days later, on 4 September, already covered August.
That lag is the main reason JOLTS usually moves the market less than payrolls. It is still watched because it answers a different question: not how many jobs were added, but how tight the market for workers is.
What have recent readings looked like?
| Release date | Job openings |
|---|---|
| 30 June 2026 | 7.594 million |
| 4 August 2026 | 7.359 million |
| 1 September 2026 | 7.271 million |
Read that column with care: these are the figures as first published by the BLS, and they get revised. June's 7.359 million was revised down to 7.182 million a month later, so July's 7.271 million was in fact a small rise — and still below the 7.3 million the market expected, according to investingLive. The BLS put July's job openings rate at 4.4%. The next report, with August's data, is due on 29 September.
Why does it move forex?
Openings are a measure of labor demand. When they fall steadily, employers are less desperate for workers, wage pressure tends to ease, and the Fed has one less reason to keep rates high — usually a weight on the dollar. Rising openings argue the other way.
The quits figure is commonly read as a confidence gauge: people tend to leave a job when they are sure they can find another. A falling quits count can signal a cooling market before the unemployment rate moves.
How does it fit with the other jobs data?
Each report sees the labor market from a different angle, and on a different clock:
| Report | Frequency | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Jobless claims | Weekly | Whether layoffs are picking up, almost in real time |
| JOLTS | Monthly, one month behind | How much hiring demand is left |
| Nonfarm payrolls | Monthly | How many jobs were actually added |
Read together they separate a slowdown in hiring from a wave of firing, which are different stories for the Fed.
What this post does not give you
It does not tell you how the dollar will react to the next release. As with every data point, the reaction follows the surprise against the forecast and what else is on the calendar that week.
The takeaway
JOLTS is slow, but it measures the one thing the other jobs reports do not: unmet demand for workers. A steady fall in openings is one of the quieter ways a labor market tells you it is cooling.
