Alaska had the highest job openings rate in December 2021

Alaska had the highest job openings rate in December 2021, at 9.3 percent, followed by Wyoming (8.9 percent) and Vermont (8.6 percent). The national job openings rate was 6.8 percent in December 2021. The job openings rate is the number of job openings divided by the sum of job openings plus employment.

The number of job openings increased in 9 states and decreased in 6 states in December. The largest increases occurred in Pennsylvania (+73,000), New Jersey (+29,000), and Minnesota (+28,000). The largest decreases in the job openings level occurred in New York (−52,000), Michigan (−24,000), and Ohio (−22,000). Nationally, the number of job openings was little changed.

Alaska also had the highest rate of hires in December 2021 at 5.8 percent, followed by South Carolina (5.3 percent) and Georgia (5.1 percent).  The national hires rate was 4.2 percent for December.  The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment.

Texas had the largest number of hires in the last month of the year with 643,000, followed by California (624,000) and Florida (341,000). 

These data are from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. To learn more, see "State Job Openings and Labor Turnover — December 2021." We also have more charts featuring data on state job openings, hires, and separations.