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Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on Job Openings and Labor Turnover data for December 2020

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) national estimates of job openings, hires, and separations have been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This page provides further information on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for the December 2020 JOLTS news release.

More information on the JOLTS methodology can be found in the JOLTS Handbook of Methods chapter.

Collection mode

Data collection for the JOLTS survey was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, JOLTS collected 42 percent of data by phone at the JOLTS data collection center on average. Most phone respondents were asked to report electronically. However, data collection was adversely impacted by the inability to reach some respondents that normally respond by phone. 

Table 1. Percent of establishments responding to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey by collection mode
Collection mode 12-month average through February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020

Phone

42% 19% 27% 28% 32% 31% 32% 33% 29% 30% 31%

Web

52% 75% 68% 67% 62% 65% 63% 62% 66% 65% 64%

Other

6% 6% 5% 5% 6% 4% 5% 6% 6% 5% 6%

Response rates

The preliminary JOLTS response rate for December 2020 was 42 percent. In November, the final response rate was 47 percent. In the year prior to the pandemic, the preliminary response rate averaged 54 percent and the final response rate averaged 58 percent. 

In December, JOLTS response rates declined in all size classes and industries. The industries most impacted were mining and logging; wholesale trade; retail trade; real estate and rental and leasing; accommodation and food services; and federal government. 

Table 2. Response rates for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
Time period Preliminary rate Final rate

12-month average through February 2020

54% 58%

March 2020

46% 51%

April 2020

44% 49%

May 2020

45% 51%

June 2020

47% 50%

July 2020

46% 50%

August 2020

47% 50%

September 2020

47% 50%

October 2020

45% 49%

November 2020

43% 47%

December 2020

42% Not available

Imputation

JOLTS imputation for December resulted in very few cells with more imputation relative to the previous year. The industries which generally experienced more imputation were retail trade; and real estate and rental and leasing. 

Changes to methods

At the onset of the pandemic, the JOLTS program reviewed all estimation and methodological procedures. Changes to the JOLTS estimation and seasonal adjustment methods are described below.

Estimation

For the December preliminary and the November final JOLTS estimates, suppression of the alignment process has been discontinued. The differences between the JOLTS hires minus separations and CES over the month employment changes are no longer significantly different. Please see below for further explanation.

BLS modified the JOLTS estimates for the March preliminary through the November preliminary estimates to better reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and produce the highest quality JOLTS estimates possible in this unique situation. The estimation process usually includes an alignment of monthly hires minus separations to the over-the-month change in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates. BLS suspended the alignment process during this time frame because the differing reference periods for the CES employment estimates (pay period including the 12th of the month) and the JOLTS hires and separations estimates (the entire reference month) led to different measurement outcomes. For example, hires and separations during the latter half of April were not included in the CES employment change for April, but were included in the JOLTS data for the month.

The alignment portion of the JOLTS estimation process was designed to correct a long-term divergence between the JOLTS implied employment change and the CES employment change. JOLTS hires minus separations and CES employment change generally approximate one another. Alignment was developed to correct small monthly discrepancies between the two series that build up over time; it was not designed to address a substantial short-term divergence between the two series.

Seasonal Adjustment

Seasonal adjustment factors can be either multiplicative or additive. A multiplicative seasonal effect is assumed to be proportional to the level of the series. A sudden large increase in the level of the series will be accompanied by a proportionally large seasonal effect. In contrast, an additive seasonal effect is assumed to be unaffected by the level of the series. In times of relative economic stability, the multiplicative option is generally preferred over the additive option. However, in the presence of a large level shift in a time series, multiplicative seasonal adjustment factors can result in systematic over- or under-adjustment of the series; in such cases, additive seasonal adjustment factors are preferred since they tend to more accurately track seasonal fluctuations in the series and have smaller revisions.

In December, the majority of the JOLTS series will retain the additive designation. In accordance with the survey’s usual practice, the seasonal adjustment models and factors will be reviewed at the end of the calendar year, when 5 years of seasonally adjusted estimates will be subject to revision.

Comparison of current month estimates with past monthly JOLTS estimates

Please see the following tables for a comparison of December 2020 estimates to historical levels. 

Table 3a. Job openings by sector and region (numbers in thousands)
Sector and region December 2020 level Monthly change Monthly percent change Last time level was smaller or equal or next closest Last time level was larger or equal or next closest Last time monthly change was smaller or equal or next closest Last time monthly change was larger or equal or next closest Last time monthly percent change was smaller or equal or next closest Last time monthly percent change was larger or equal or next closest

Total nonfarm

6,646 74 1.1 Nov 2020 6,572 Jul 2020 6,697 Nov 2020 -60 Oct 2020 138 Nov 2020 -0.9 Oct 2020 2.1

Total private

6,048 144 2.4 Nov 2020 5,904 Feb 2020 6,236 Nov 2020 -32 Sep 2020 159 Nov 2020 -0.5 Sep 2020 2.8

Government

598 -70 -10.5 Jan 2018 571 Nov 2020 668 Aug 2020 -102 Nov 2020 -28 Aug 2020 -12.5 Nov 2020 -4.0

Region

Northeast

1,173 17 1.5 Nov 2020 1,156 Jul 2020 1,209 Nov 2020 -7 Oct 2020 62 Nov 2020 -0.6 Oct 2020 5.6

South

2,613 69 2.7 Nov 2020 2,544 Jan 2020 2,631 Nov 2020 -39 Sep 2020 72 Nov 2020 -1.5 Sep 2020 2.9

Midwest

1,395 -25 -1.8 Sep 2020 1,388 Nov 2020 1,420 Aug 2020 -195 Nov 2020 -6 Aug 2020 -12.5 Nov 2020 -0.4

West

1,464 12 0.8 Nov 2020 1,452 Feb 2020 1,621 Nov 2020 -8 Oct 2020 39 Nov 2020 -0.5 Oct 2020 2.7
Table 3b. Hires by sector and region (numbers in thousands)
Sector and region December 2020 level Monthly change Monthly percent change Last time level was smaller or equal or next closest Last time level was larger or equal or next closest Last time monthly change was smaller or equal or next closest Last time monthly change was larger or equal or next closest Last time monthly percent change was smaller or equal or next closest Last time monthly percent change was larger or equal or next closest

Total nonfarm

5,539 -396 -6.7 Apr 2020 4,047 Nov 2020 5,935 Jul 2020 -1,067 Nov 2020 23 Jul 2020 -15.3 Nov 2020 0.4

Total private

5,208 -384 -6.9 Apr 2020 3,812 Nov 2020 5,592 Jul 2020 -1,119 Nov 2020 14 Jul 2020 -16.7 Nov 2020 0.3

Government

331 -12 -3.5 Sep 2020 316 Nov 2020 343 Sep 2020 -242 Nov 2020 9 Sep 2020 -43.4 Nov 2020 2.7

Region

Northeast

908 -49 -5.1 Apr 2020 534 Nov 2020 957 Jul 2020 -162 Nov 2020 -28 Jul 2020 -13.3 Nov 2020 -2.8

South

2,202 -232 -9.5 Jul 2020 2,173 Nov 2020 2,434 Jul 2020 -244 Nov 2020 81 Jul 2020 -10.1 Nov 2020 3.4

Midwest

1,236 -77 -5.9 Oct 2020 1,227 Nov 2020 1,313 Sep 2020 -130 Nov 2020 86 Sep 2020 -9.9 Nov 2020 7.0

West

1,194 -36 -2.9 Apr 2020 1,015 Nov 2020 1,230 Nov 2020 -117 Sep 2020 79 Nov 2020 -8.7 Sep 2020 5.9
Table 3c. Total separations by sector and region (numbers in thousands)
Sector and region December 2020 level Monthly change Monthly percent change Last time level was smaller or equal or next closest Last time level was larger or equal or next closest Last time monthly change was smaller or equal or next closest Last time monthly change was larger or equal or next closest Last time monthly percent change was smaller or equal or next closest Last time monthly percent change was larger or equal or next closest

Total nonfarm

5,460 -63 -1.1 Oct 2020 5,142 Nov 2020 5,523 Aug 2020 -299 Nov 2020 381 Aug 2020 -6.0 Nov 2020 7.4

Total private

5,130 20 0.4 Nov 2020 5,110 Apr 2020 9,536 Aug 2020 -316 Nov 2020 436 Aug 2020 -6.7 Nov 2020 9.3

Government

329 -84 -20.3 Aug 2020 276 Nov 2020 413 May 2020 -137 Nov 2020 -56 May 2020 -31.2 Nov 2020 -11.9

Region

Northeast

878 -11 -1.2 Oct 2020 851 Nov 2020 889 Aug 2020 -64 Nov 2020 38 Aug 2020 -8.4 Nov 2020 4.5

South

2072 12 0.6 Nov 2020 2,060 Apr 2020 3,429 Aug 2020 -20 Nov 2020 28 Aug 2020 -1.0 Nov 2020 1.4

Midwest

1186 -88 -6.9 Oct 2020 1,181 Nov 2020 1,274 May 2020 -1,270 Nov 2020 93 May 2020 -58.5 Nov 2020 7.9

West

1,323 23 1.8 Nov 2020 1,300 Apr 2020 2,525 Oct 2020 -47 Nov 2020 222 Oct 2020 -4.2 Nov 2020 20.6
Table 3d. Layoffs and discharges by sector and region (numbers in thousands)
Sector and region December 2020 level Monthly change Monthly percent change Last time level was smaller or equal or next closest Last time level was larger or equal or next closest Last time monthly change was smaller or equal or next closest Last time monthly change was larger or equal or next closest Last time monthly percent change was smaller or equal or next closest Last time monthly percent change was larger or equal or next closest

Total nonfarm

1,812 -243 -11.8 Oct 2020 1,676 Nov 2020 2,055 Jul 2020 -250 Nov 2020 379 Aug 2020 -12.1 Nov 2020 22.6

Total private

1,725 -144 -7.7 Oct 2020 1,454 Nov 2020 1,869 Sep 2020 -153 Nov 2020 415 Sep 2020 -10.5 Nov 2020 28.5

Government

87 -99 -53.2 Aug 2020 69 Nov 2020 186 May 2020 -104 Nov 2020 -36 Oct 2010 -52.4 Nov 2020 -16.2

Region

Northeast

388 8 2.1 Nov 2020 380 Jun 2020 395 Sep 2020 -32 Nov 2020 28 Sep 2020 -12.1 Nov 2020 8.0

South

538 -70 -11.5 Sep 2020 476 Nov 2020 608 Aug 2020 -99 Nov 2020 56 Sep 2020 -11.9 Nov 2020 10.1

Midwest

344 -161 -31.9 Oct 2019 340 Nov 2020 505 May 2020 -1,242 Nov 2020 88 May 2020 -75.3 Nov 2020 21.1

West

542 -19 -3.4 Oct 2020 355 Nov 2020 561 Oct 2020 -23 Nov 2020 206 Oct 2020 -6.1 Nov 2020 58.0
Table 3e. Quits by sector and region (numbers in thousands)
Sector and region December 2020 level Monthly change Monthly percent change Last time level was smaller or equal or next closest Last time level was larger or equal or next closest Last time monthly change was smaller or equal or next closest Last time monthly change was larger or equal or next closest Last time monthly percent change was smaller or equal or next closest Last time monthly percent change was larger or equal or next closest

Total nonfarm

3,286 106 3.3 Nov 2020 3,180 Feb 2020 3,436 Nov 2020 30 Sep 2020 235 Nov 2020 1.0 Sep 2020 8.3

Total private

3,117 106 3.5 Nov 2020 3,011 Feb 2020 3,245 Nov 2020 39 Sep 2020 224 Nov 2020 1.3 Sep 2020 8.3

Government

169 0 0.0 Nov 2020 169 Nov 2020 169 Nov 2020 -9 Oct 2020 23 Nov 2020 -5.1 Oct 2020 14.8

Region

Northeast

419 -36 -7.9 Aug 2020 389 Nov 2020 455 Apr 2020 -129 Nov 2020 0 Apr 2020 -31.9 Nov 2020 0.0

South

1,403 38 2.8 Nov 2020 1,365 Jan 2020 1,494 Nov 2020 21 Oct 2020 41 Nov 2020 1.6 Oct 2020 3.1

Midwest

771 71 10.1 Nov 2020 700 Feb 2020 783 Nov 2020 -1 Jul 2020 104 Nov 2020 -0.1 Jul 2020 17.4

West

693 34 5.2 Nov 2020 659 Feb 2020 812 Nov 2020 9 Sep 2020 84 Nov 2020 1.4 Sep 2020 14.4

Last Modified Date: February 9, 2021