Finding · Oct 26, 2026

What is the U.S. job openings rate in August 2026, and which states and industries are hiring most (JOLTS)?

U.S. job openings rate 4.3 percent in August 2026 with 7,079,000 openings; quits rate 1.9 percent, layoffs rate 1.0 percent; highest state West Virginia (5.5 percent, December 2025), highest industry Health care and social assistance (5.4 percent) — BLS JOLTS, every figure linked to its record.

Questions this record answers

What is the U.S. job openings rate in August 2026, and how does it compare with a year earlier?: The U.S. job openings rate was 4.3 percent in August 2026, with 7,079,000 job openings on the last business day of the month, against 4.2 percent in August 2025. The hires rate was 3.3 percent, the quits rate 1.9 percent and the layoffs and discharges rate 1.0 percent (BLS JOLTS, seasonally adjusted).
When were U.S. job openings highest and lowest since 2010, by the JOLTS rate?: Since January 2010 the job openings rate peaked at 7.5 percent in March 2022 and was lowest at 2.0 percent in February 2010; the highest number of openings was 12,301,000 in March 2022. The quits rate peaked at 3.0 percent in November 2021.
Which U.S. states had the highest and lowest job openings rates in December 2025, the latest month with state estimates?: State estimates in the BLS file run through December 2025. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, West Virginia had the highest job openings rate in December 2025 at 5.5 percent, followed by Georgia (5.3 percent) and Oklahoma (5.3 percent); the lowest was Washington at 2.9 percent. The most openings in absolute terms: California (674,000), Texas (608,000), New York (431,000).
Which U.S. industries had the most job openings in August 2026, and where are quits and layoffs highest?: By rate, Health care and social assistance had the highest job openings rate in August 2026 at 5.4 percent, followed by Finance and insurance (5.0 percent); the lowest was Real estate and rental and leasing at 2.0 percent. The quits rate was highest in Accommodation and food services (3.5 percent) and the layoffs and discharges rate in Arts, entertainment, and recreation (3.1 percent) — across the 27 JOLTS industries, national data, seasonally adjusted.
How does JOLTS count a job opening, and what does the survey not show?: A job opening counts if a specific position exists, work could start within 30 days and the employer is actively recruiting outside the establishment, on the last business day of the month. JOLTS is a sample survey of about 21,000 establishments; state and industry estimates are model-based and revised. It does not count postings, so re-posted ads do not inflate it — unlike job boards. FACTANKER's own employer-level counts of open positions from careers systems are a different measure: who is hiring this week.

Cite as: FACTANKER, https://factanker.com/record/us-job-openings-hires-quits-layoffs-jolts-2026-08

What this covers. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, seasonally adjusted, for the United States, every state (total nonfarm) and every industry (national). Rates are per 100 jobs: job openings as a share of employment plus openings, hires, quits and layoffs as a share of employment. Every figure links to its record; the full monthly series are on the job openings, hires, quits and layoffs pages.

What is the U.S. job openings rate in August 2026, and how does it compare with a year earlier?

The U.S. job openings rate was 4.3 percent in August 2026, with 7,079,000 job openings on the last business day of the month, against 4.2 percent in August 2025. The hires rate was 3.3 percent, the quits rate 1.9 percent and the layoffs and discharges rate 1.0 percent (BLS JOLTS, seasonally adjusted).

When were U.S. job openings highest and lowest since 2010, by the JOLTS rate?

Since January 2010 the job openings rate peaked at 7.5 percent in March 2022 and was lowest at 2.0 percent in February 2010; the highest number of openings was 12,301,000 in March 2022. The quits rate peaked at 3.0 percent in November 2021.

Year	Job openings rate, average	Highest month	Lowest month
2026 (to August 2026)	4.4 %	4.6 percent (Apr)	4.2 percent (Feb)
2025	4.3 %	4.5 percent (Jan)	4.0 percent (Dec)
2024	4.6 %	5.1 percent (Jan)	4.2 percent (Sep)
2023	5.6 %	6.2 percent (Jan)	5.2 percent (Oct)
2022	6.9 %	7.5 percent (Mar)	6.2 percent (Aug)
2021	6.4 %	7.1 percent (Dec)	4.8 percent (Jan)
2020	4.3 %	4.6 percent (Oct)	3.4 percent (Apr)
2019	4.5 %	4.8 percent (Jan)	4.2 percent (Dec)
2018	4.5 %	4.8 percent (Nov)	4.2 percent (Feb)
2017	4.0 %	4.2 percent (Oct)	3.7 percent (Jan)
2016	3.9 %	4.1 percent (Mar)	3.7 percent (Oct)
2015	3.8 %	4.1 percent (Jul)	3.6 percent (Mar)
2014	3.3 %	3.7 percent (Aug)	2.9 percent (Jan)
2013	2.9 %	3.0 percent (May)	2.8 percent (Jan)
2012	2.8 %	2.9 percent (Mar)	2.6 percent (Feb)
2011	2.6 %	2.8 percent (Sep)	2.3 percent (Jan)
2010	2.2 %	2.4 percent (Apr)	2.0 percent (Feb)

Which U.S. states had the highest and lowest job openings rates in December 2025, the latest month with state estimates?

State estimates in the BLS file run through December 2025. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, West Virginia had the highest job openings rate in December 2025 at 5.5 percent, followed by Georgia (5.3 percent) and Oklahoma (5.3 percent); the lowest was Washington at 2.9 percent. The most openings in absolute terms: California (674,000), Texas (608,000), New York (431,000).

State	Job openings rate	Job openings	Hires rate	Quits rate
West Virginia	5.5 percent	42,000	4.0 percent	2.4 percent
Georgia	5.3 percent	279,000	2.8 percent	1.6 percent
Oklahoma	5.3 percent	101,000	3.9 percent	2.2 percent
Louisiana	4.8 percent	101,000	3.9 percent	2.7 percent
Ohio	4.8 percent	287,000	3.2 percent	2.6 percent
Virginia	4.8 percent	213,000	3.1 percent	2.0 percent
Michigan	4.7 percent	221,000	3.8 percent	2.5 percent
Mississippi	4.7 percent	59,000	3.9 percent	2.4 percent
Alaska	4.5 percent	16,000	4.2 percent	3.0 percent
District of Columbia	4.5 percent	34,000	2.6 percent	1.5 percent
Delaware	4.4 percent	23,000	3.6 percent	2.6 percent
Maryland	4.4 percent	127,000	3.2 percent	1.9 percent
Arkansas	4.3 percent	60,000	3.4 percent	2.0 percent
Kentucky	4.3 percent	92,000	3.4 percent	2.1 percent
Minnesota	4.3 percent	135,000	2.9 percent	1.9 percent
Maine	4.1 percent	28,000	3.0 percent	2.0 percent
Missouri	4.1 percent	128,000	3.2 percent	2.2 percent
New York	4.1 percent	431,000	3.3 percent	1.6 percent
Rhode Island	4.1 percent	22,000	3.9 percent	1.8 percent
South Carolina	4.1 percent	103,000	4.4 percent	2.4 percent
South Dakota	4.1 percent	20,000	3.6 percent	3.4 percent
Tennessee	4.1 percent	143,000	3.6 percent	2.2 percent
Texas	4.1 percent	608,000	3.5 percent	2.2 percent
Alabama	4.0 percent	91,000	3.3 percent	2.1 percent
Kansas	4.0 percent	61,000	3.3 percent	2.5 percent
Montana	4.0 percent	22,000	4.0 percent	2.9 percent
North Carolina	4.0 percent	212,000	3.2 percent	2.2 percent
Florida	3.9 percent	404,000	3.1 percent	2.1 percent
North Dakota	3.9 percent	18,000	4.0 percent	2.7 percent
Connecticut	3.8 percent	67,000	3.6 percent	1.6 percent
New Jersey	3.8 percent	172,000	3.4 percent	1.6 percent
Idaho	3.7 percent	34,000	3.9 percent	2.6 percent
Indiana	3.7 percent	123,000	3.5 percent	3.2 percent
Pennsylvania	3.7 percent	235,000	3.0 percent	1.8 percent
Wisconsin	3.7 percent	115,000	3.4 percent	2.5 percent
Arizona	3.6 percent	121,000	3.9 percent	1.9 percent
California	3.6 percent	674,000	3.2 percent	1.7 percent
Wyoming	3.6 percent	11,000	3.7 percent	2.7 percent
Iowa	3.5 percent	57,000	3.2 percent	2.3 percent
Nebraska	3.5 percent	38,000	3.0 percent	2.2 percent
New Mexico	3.5 percent	32,000	3.3 percent	2.0 percent
Oregon	3.5 percent	72,000	3.5 percent	2.2 percent
Utah	3.5 percent	64,000	3.5 percent	2.1 percent
Massachusetts	3.4 percent	129,000	2.7 percent	1.3 percent
Vermont	3.4 percent	11,000	2.9 percent	2.2 percent
Colorado	3.3 percent	100,000	2.9 percent	2.0 percent
Illinois	3.3 percent	211,000	3.7 percent	2.1 percent
Nevada	3.1 percent	52,000	4.0 percent	1.8 percent
New Hampshire	3.1 percent	22,000	2.4 percent	2.0 percent
Hawaii	2.9 percent	19,000	2.8 percent	2.0 percent
Washington	2.9 percent	110,000	3.1 percent	1.6 percent

Which U.S. industries had the most job openings in August 2026, and where are quits and layoffs highest?

By rate, Health care and social assistance had the highest job openings rate in August 2026 at 5.4 percent, followed by Finance and insurance (5.0 percent); the lowest was Real estate and rental and leasing at 2.0 percent. The quits rate was highest in Accommodation and food services (3.5 percent) and the layoffs and discharges rate in Arts, entertainment, and recreation (3.1 percent) — across the 27 JOLTS industries, national data, seasonally adjusted.

Industry	Job openings rate	Job openings	Hires rate	Quits rate	Layoffs rate
Health care and social assistance	5.4 percent	1,359,000	2.9 percent	2.0 percent	0.8 percent
Finance and insurance	5.0 percent	353,000	1.7 percent	1.0 percent	0.6 percent
Professional and business services	5.0 percent	1,186,000	4.2 percent	2.1 percent	1.7 percent
Private education and health services	5.0 percent	1,484,000	2.9 percent	1.9 percent	0.8 percent
Retail trade	4.7 percent	761,000	4.3 percent	3.0 percent	1.0 percent
Leisure and hospitality	4.7 percent	829,000	5.3 percent	3.3 percent	1.5 percent
Accommodation and food services	4.7 percent	713,000	5.2 percent	3.5 percent	1.2 percent
Durable goods manufacturing	4.6 percent	380,000	2.4 percent	1.3 percent	0.6 percent
Total private	4.5 percent	6,348,000	3.6 percent	2.1 percent	1.2 percent
Transportation, warehousing, and utilities	4.5 percent	338,000	3.4 percent	1.9 percent	1.4 percent
Trade, transportation, and utilities	4.3 percent	1,287,000	3.8 percent	2.4 percent	1.2 percent
Information	4.3 percent	123,000	1.6 percent	1.1 percent	1.0 percent
Financial activities	4.2 percent	403,000	1.8 percent	1.0 percent	0.6 percent
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	4.2 percent	116,000	5.9 percent	2.3 percent	3.1 percent
Mining and logging	4.0 percent	25,000	3.9 percent	2.3 percent	1.0 percent
Manufacturing	4.0 percent	522,000	2.6 percent	1.6 percent	0.8 percent
Federal	4.0 percent	113,000	1.0 percent	0.5 percent	0.2 percent
Other services	3.8 percent	238,000	4.0 percent	2.7 percent	1.1 percent
State and local government, excluding education	3.8 percent	390,000	1.6 percent	0.8 percent	0.4 percent
Wholesale trade	3.0 percent	188,000	2.8 percent	1.3 percent	1.2 percent
Private educational services	3.0 percent	125,000	2.7 percent	1.6 percent	0.8 percent
Government	3.0 percent	731,000	1.5 percent	0.7 percent	0.3 percent
Construction	2.9 percent	251,000	3.7 percent	1.8 percent	1.2 percent
Nondurable goods manufacturing	2.9 percent	142,000	3.0 percent	2.0 percent	0.9 percent
State and local	2.9 percent	618,000	1.6 percent	0.8 percent	0.3 percent
State and local government education	2.1 percent	228,000	1.5 percent	0.7 percent	0.3 percent
Real estate and rental and leasing	2.0 percent	50,000	2.2 percent	0.9 percent	0.7 percent

How does JOLTS count a job opening, and what does the survey not show?

A job opening counts if a specific position exists, work could start within 30 days and the employer is actively recruiting outside the establishment, on the last business day of the month. JOLTS is a sample survey of about 21,000 establishments; state and industry estimates are model-based and revised. It does not count postings, so re-posted ads do not inflate it — unlike job boards. FACTANKER's own employer-level counts of open positions from careers systems are a different measure: who is hiring this week.

The records behind this article: which official sources do its figures come from?

Job openings rate, every area U.S. job openings rate, August 2026

Free to republish. Findings and charts are free for editorial use with attribution — “Source: FACTANKER” plus a link to the article or the underlying fact.