The JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) provides a measure of excess labor supply in the United States. Closely monitored by members of the Fed’s FOMC and Janet Yellen, JOLTS provides additional insight into the unemployment rate, helping to interpret the state of the US labor market.
Conducted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the survey polls a sample of US companies that volunteer to answer questions about their new job openings (5,757k in March 2016), new hires (5,292k in March 2016), and voluntary and involuntary separations (5,045k in March 2016), resignations (2,980k in March 2016), and layoffs (1,330k in March 2016).
In March 2016, job openings (US Job Openings – JOLTS) – the main indicator monitored in the survey – reached 5.757 million jobs, their highest level ever.
