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Wednesday, September 30, 2026

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BLS · Wednesday, September 30, 2026

U.S. job openings held near 7.1 million in August

The File desk · Sep 30, 2026, 10:17 AM UTC

Status

Confirmed (BLS USDL-26-1547, Sept. 29, 2026, 10:00 a.m. ET)

On Sept. 29, 2026, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said U.S. employers still had about 7.1 million open jobs at the end of August, little changed from July. Hiring changed little at 5.2 million. Total separations were unchanged at 5.1 million. Quits held at 3.1 million. Layoffs and discharges were about 1.6 million. The job openings rate was 4.3 percent and the hires rate was 3.3 percent. July’s job openings figure was revised up by 64,000 to 7.3 million. The next Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, for September, is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the August Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey at 10:00 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026.

The release number is USDL-26-1547.

The bureau’s sentence: “The number of job openings was little changed at 7.1 million in August.”

Hiring changed little, at 5.2 million. Total separations were unchanged at 5.1 million.

Quits were unchanged at 3.1 million. Layoffs and discharges were essentially unchanged at 1.6 million.

The job openings rate was 4.3 percent. The hires rate was 3.3 percent. The total separations rate was 3.2 percent. The quits rate was 1.9 percent. The layoffs and discharges rate was 1.0 percent.

July’s revisions: job openings up 64,000, to 7.3 million. Hires up 92,000, to 5.1 million. Total separations up 56,000, to 5.1 million. Quits up 33,000, to 3.1 million. Layoffs and discharges up 36,000, to 1.7 million.

Openings were little changed in all industries.

The next release, for September, is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

This is a turnover survey. It is not a new Consumer Price Index, Producer Price Index, Employment Situation, personal consumption expenditures, or gross domestic product print.

What is still unknown or disputed

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Job Openings and Labor Turnover – August 2026

    U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · September 29, 2026

    The number of job openings was little changed at 7.1 million in August. Hires changed little at 5.2 million, while total separations were unchanged at 5.1 million. Quits (3.1 million) were unchanged, while layoffs and discharges (1.6 million) were essentially unchanged. Job openings rate 4.3 percent. Hires rate 3.3 percent. July job openings revised up by 64,000 to 7.3 million. Next release: September 2026 on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

    https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm