BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

11/21/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/21/2024 14:05

Virginia Job Openings and Labor Turnover — September 2024

News Release Information

24-2427-PHI
Thursday, November 21, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Virginia Job Openings and Labor Turnover - September 2024

Virginia had 244,000 job openings in September 2024, compared to 268,000 openings in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the job openings rate in Virginia was 5.4 percent in September and 5.9 percent in the previous month. (See chart 1 and table 2.) The job openings rate nationally was 4.5 percent in September and 4.7 percent in August. (See table 3.) All data in this release are seasonally adjusted.

View Chart Data
Chart 1. Job openings as a percent of employment for the United States and Virginia, seasonally adjusted
Month Virginia United States

Sep 2020

4.6 4.4

Oct 2020

5.2 4.6

Nov 2020

5.2 4.6

Dec 2020

5.2 4.5

Jan 2021

5.1 4.8

Feb 2021

6.3 5.2

Mar 2021

5.8 5.6

Apr 2021

6.3 6.0

May 2021

6.5 6.4

Jun 2021

6.4 6.6

Jul 2021

7.5 7.0

Aug 2021

6.9 6.9

Sep 2021

7.8 6.9

Oct 2021

6.7 7.1

Nov 2021

7.1 7.0

Dec 2021

6.6 7.1

Jan 2022

6.8 7.0

Feb 2022

6.8 7.2

Mar 2022

7.4 7.4

Apr 2022

7.2 7.2

May 2022

6.8 7.0

Jun 2022

7.3 6.9

Jul 2022

8.2 7.0

Aug 2022

7.1 6.2

Sep 2022

7.7 6.6

Oct 2022

7.9 6.4

Nov 2022

7.4 6.5

Dec 2022

7.6 6.7

Jan 2023

7.7 6.3

Feb 2023

7.3 6.0

Mar 2023

7.4 5.8

Apr 2023

6.0 6.0

May 2023

6.4 5.6

Jun 2023

6.2 5.5

Jul 2023

5.8 5.3

Aug 2023

5.9 5.6

Sep 2023

5.9 5.6

Oct 2023

5.7 5.2

Nov 2023

5.8 5.4

Dec 2023

6.1 5.3

Jan 2024

6.0 5.3

Feb 2024

6.2 5.3

Mar 2024

5.7 5.0

Apr 2024

5.6 4.8

May 2024

5.6 4.9

Jun 2024

5.4 4.8

Jul 2024

6.1 4.6

Aug 2024

5.9 4.7

Sep 2024

5.4 4.5

The ratio of unemployed persons per job opening in Virginia was 0.5 in September. The ratio has been less than 1.0 in Virginia since February 2021. Nationwide, 35 states and the District of Columbia had ratios in September that were lower than the national measure of 0.9 unemployed persons per job opening; 9 states had ratios that were higher than the national ratio, and 6 states had ratios equal to the national measure. (See map 1.)

Map 1. Number of unemployed persons per job opening by state, September 2024, seasonally adjusted

(U.S. ratio = 0.9)

In September, Virginia had 165,000 hires and 147,000 separations, compared to 157,000 hires and 136,000 separations in August. (See chart 2.) Over the 12 months ending in September, hires have averaged 163,000 per month and separations have averaged 151,000 per month. These averages include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.

View Chart Data
Chart 2. Hires and total separations in Virginia, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Month Hires Total separations

Sep 2020

155 112

Oct 2020

171 158

Nov 2020

184 156

Dec 2020

162 131

Jan 2021

157 125

Feb 2021

163 135

Mar 2021

161 142

Apr 2021

170 169

May 2021

160 153

Jun 2021

171 157

Jul 2021

164 138

Aug 2021

171 151

Sep 2021

181 147

Oct 2021

161 130

Nov 2021

152 132

Dec 2021

165 161

Jan 2022

154 165

Feb 2022

175 171

Mar 2022

172 146

Apr 2022

193 167

May 2022

152 149

Jun 2022

159 143

Jul 2022

203 153

Aug 2022

165 155

Sep 2022

164 158

Oct 2022

165 167

Nov 2022

181 166

Dec 2022

178 157

Jan 2023

182 164

Feb 2023

182 159

Mar 2023

179 182

Apr 2023

172 176

May 2023

178 181

Jun 2023

186 160

Jul 2023

174 181

Aug 2023

153 156

Sep 2023

174 152

Oct 2023

161 157

Nov 2023

165 143

Dec 2023

165 148

Jan 2024

169 158

Feb 2024

176 152

Mar 2024

168 159

Apr 2024

166 151

May 2024

180 159

Jun 2024

140 138

Jul 2024

145 168

Aug 2024

157 136

Sep 2024

165 147

Among the September separations in Virginia, 94,000 were quits and 44,000 were layoffs and discharges, compared to 88,000 quits and 36,000 layoffs and discharges in August. (See chart 3.) Over the last 12 months, quits averaged 97,000 per month, ranging from 82,000 to 105,000. Layoffs and discharges have averaged 43,000 per month, ranging from 35,000 to 49,000.

View Chart Data
Chart 3. Quits and layoffs and discharges in Virginia, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Month Quits Layoffs & discharges

Sep 2020

78 23

Oct 2020

90 58

Nov 2020

97 52

Dec 2020

83 42

Jan 2021

84 33

Feb 2021

89 35

Mar 2021

94 40

Apr 2021

128 31

May 2021

102 45

Jun 2021

105 41

Jul 2021

95 25

Aug 2021

104 38

Sep 2021

109 31

Oct 2021

96 27

Nov 2021

98 27

Dec 2021

118 31

Jan 2022

116 39

Feb 2022

92 69

Mar 2022

95 39

Apr 2022

126 34

May 2022

102 39

Jun 2022

105 27

Jul 2022

109 34

Aug 2022

104 40

Sep 2022

114 34

Oct 2022

124 37

Nov 2022

115 41

Dec 2022

112 36

Jan 2023

92 66

Feb 2023

120 30

Mar 2023

130 45

Apr 2023

103 65

May 2023

132 41

Jun 2023

109 44

Jul 2023

109 65

Aug 2023

106 42

Sep 2023

102 42

Oct 2023

99 46

Nov 2023

96 35

Dec 2023

97 43

Jan 2024

103 42

Feb 2024

95 49

Mar 2024

104 44

Apr 2024

96 43

May 2024

103 44

Jun 2024

82 43

Jul 2024

105 46

Aug 2024

88 36

Sep 2024

94 44

The State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for October 2024 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).


Technical Note

This news release presents statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The JOLTS program provides information on labor demand and turnover. The state estimates produced by JOLTS are model-based, incorporating JOLTS sample, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), and Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates. For more information see the JOLTS State Estimates Methodology.

Job Openings. Job openings include all positions that are open on the last business day of the reference month. A job is open only if it meets all three of these conditions:

  • A specific position exists and there is work available for that position.
  • The job could start within 30 days.
  • The employer is actively recruiting workers from outside the establishment to fill the position.

The number of unemployed persons per job opening is a ratio of the level of unemployed persons and the level of job openings. The number of unemployed persons at the national level is an estimate from the Current Population Survey (CPS), while state-level unemployment estimates are modeled by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. A ratio of 1.0 means there is a job available for every unemployed person. Lower ratios signal tighter labor markets, where firms have more job openings than there are unemployed persons available to work. Higher ratios indicate there are more unemployed persons competing for each job opening.

Hires. Hires include all additions to the payroll during the entire reference month.

Separations. Separations include all separations from the payroll during the entire reference month and is reported by type of separation: quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations.

  • Quits include employees who left voluntarily, except for retirements or transfers to other locations.
  • Layoffs and discharges include involuntary separations initiated by the employer.
  • Other separations include retirements, transfers to other locations, separations due to employee disability, and deaths.

Levels and rates of other separations represent a small portion of total separations and are not published with the release of state estimates.

Complete definitions, including exclusions, and additional information about the State JOLTS data presented in this release are available in the State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Technical Note.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Job openings and labor turnover for Virginia, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Estimate September 2023 June 2024 July 2024 August 2024 September 2024(p) Change from August 2024 to September 2024(p)

Openings

263 245 278 268 244 -24

Hires

174 140 145 157 165 8

Total separations

152 138 168 136 147 11

Quits

102 82 105 88 94 6

Layoffs & discharges

42 43 46 36 44 8

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.

Table 2. Job openings and labor turnover rates for Virginia, seasonally adjusted
Estimate September 2023 June 2024 July 2024 August 2024 September 2024(p) Change from August 2024 to September 2024(p)

Openings(1)

5.9 5.4 6.1 5.9 5.4 -0.5

Hires(2)

4.2 3.3 3.4 3.7 3.9 0.2

Total separations(3)

3.6 3.2 4.0 3.2 3.5 0.3

Quits(3)

2.4 1.9 2.5 2.1 2.2 0.1

Layoffs & discharges(3)

1.0 1.0 1.1 0.8 1.0 0.2

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.
(1) The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(2) The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(3) The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits and layoffs and discharges rates are computed similarly.

Table 3. Job openings and labor turnover rates for the United States, seasonally adjusted
Estimate September 2023 June 2024 July 2024 August 2024 September 2024(p) Change from August 2024 to September 2024(p)

Openings(1)

5.6 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.5 -0.2

Hires(2)

3.7 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.5 0.1

Total separations(3)

3.5 3.2 3.4 3.3 3.3 0.0

Quits(3)

2.3 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.9 -0.1

Layoffs & discharges(3)

1.0 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.2 0.2

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.
(1) The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(2) The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(3) The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits and layoffs and discharges rates are computed similarly.