US job openings surge as quits accelerate and layoffs fall

U.S. job openings rose by 333,000 in September to 7.52 million, while voluntary quits jumped 321,000 to 3.36 million, the largest month-to-month increase in more than three years.

Job openings stood 4.9% above a year earlier. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) put the three-month average, including revisions, up 114,000 from August at 7.35 million, 4.1% higher year over year.

These are national totals; the source has no sector or occupation breakdown. The signal is more movement across the market, not improvement in every field.

What does JOLTS actually count?

The September openings estimate came from a survey of HR departments at 21,000 business locations, not online job postings. A position counts as open only when:

• A specific job has work available.
• The worker could start within 30 days.
• The employer is actively recruiting from outside the establishment.

JOLTS excludes positions open only for internal transfers, promotions, demotions or recalls after layoffs; positions whose hires have not yet started; and positions to be filled by temporary-help agencies, employee-leasing companies, outside contractors or consultants. In plain terms, it counts concrete external recruiting, not every vacancy mentioned online.

What is driving the increase?

Quits made up 63% of all separations. Their three-month average rose 51,000 to 3.12 million, up 3.0% year over year. More quits leave vacancies, which employers fill with hires; the jump in openings and quits is one movement through the labor market.

In 2021-2023, mass quits produced a historic churn wave as workers switched jobs. The source says that wave reshuffled the labor force, rematched workers with employers, raised wages, reduced productivity and likely improved the eventual fit between the two.

After that churn calmed and normalized, the source describes some reacceleration in 2026, including acceleration since late 2025. In plain terms, this is a partial reacceleration, not a full return to the scale of the earlier turmoil.

Are employers cutting more jobs?

No. Layoffs and discharges fell 127,000 from August and 9.6% year over year to 1.64 million, the lowest level since March 2025. Their three-month average declined 48,000 to 1.70 million, down 5.7% year over year.

Layoffs represented 31% of separations and sat at the low end of the pre-pandemic range. Only the 2021-2023 labor shortages produced significantly lower readings over the past decade.

Wolf Richter, author of the source analysis, wrote: “Getting fired for a variety of reasons, or for no reason, is a standard feature of the US labor market.” The September figures show less involuntary turnover than a year earlier, not an absence of firing risk. In plain terms, fewer workers are losing jobs involuntarily, though the 1.64 million total remains substantial.

Does the hiring jump mean September created jobs?

No. Hires rose 131,000 from August to 5.40 million, up 3.0% year over year. The three-month average increased 23,000 to 5.27 million, up 1.3%.

Nearly all September hires filled positions left by quits, layoffs and discharges, retirements or other separations. “The number of ‘Hires’ does not speak to job creation in September,” Richter wrote. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ October 2 nonfarm payroll report, rather than JOLTS, measured September job creation.

For an individual candidate, 5.40 million hires signals active demand for replacements, not 5.40 million newly created posts. In plain terms, employers rehired into vacated roles faster; that differs from net payroll growth.

How much did retirements contribute?

Retirements and other separations, including deaths while employed, made up 6% of September’s total. They fell to 313,000, while the 12-month average rose to 317,000. JOLTS data begin in 2001, and this series has posted a series of record lows over the past two years. In plain terms, retirements contributed little to September’s jump and remain a small part of turnover.

What does this mean for workers now?

For employed workers, falling layoffs and quits up 12.5% year over year point to greater mobility: fewer involuntary exits and more voluntary ones. For job seekers, 7.52 million openings and 5.40 million hires mean more vacancies and replacements, not gains in every occupation.

Looking ahead, the decisive signal is whether openings and hires keep rising while layoffs stay low. That would point to worker-led mobility rather than employer-driven contraction.