Back to:ECONOMIC ANALYSIS & MONETARY POLICY

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Definition

JOLTS is a survey carried out to aid in determining the available job vacancies. It is done by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics and collects data every month from various employers such as retailers, manufacturers among others. JOLTS presents both qualitative and quantitative questions to the respondents about their employment, recruitments, job openings, etc. The data collected is then grouped into regions and industries and then published each month.

A Little More on What is Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)

The data collected by JOLTS is essential in guiding the government in the development of economic policy using economic research and planning. This data can also be used to analyze the retention rate of the industry, business cycles as well as economic research that is specific to a particular industry. The JOLTS data has also been used together with the Help-Wanted Index, whose publication is done by the Conference Board, to provide an accurate reading of the current job-market efficiency.

References For Academic Research on Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 

• https://www.investopedia.com/terms/j/jolts.asp
• https://investinganswers.com/financial-dictionary/economics/job-openings-and-labor-turnover-survey-3402
• http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/Job-Openings-and-Labor-Turnover-Survey-JOLTS.html

Academic Research on Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)

• Studying the labor market with the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, Faberman, R. J. (2009). In Producer dynamics: New evidence from micro data (pp. 83-108). University of Chicago Press. This paper reports primary evidence on the aggregate and establishment-level relationship between vacancies and worker flows to various labor market conditions such as state-level unemployment.
• The job openings and labor turnover survey: What initial data show, Clark, K. A. (2004). Monthly Lab. Rev., 127, 14. This paper gives an overview of the estimates provided by JOLTS and describes the JOLTS program, highlights what its data show about the labor market and the economy and then performs a comparison of its series with other comparable data series find out and validate the movements in the JOLTS data.
• Measuring the demand for labor in the United States: The job openings and labor turnover survey, Clark, K. A., & Hyson, R. (2000, August). In Joint Statistical Meetings, Indianapolis. This paper describes how JOLTS was developed as a parallel measure of labor demand to perform an analysis of the US labor market and detail how labor supply and demand changes affect the whole economy.
• What can we learn about firm recruitment from the job openings and labor turnover survey?, Nagypl, . (2009). In Producer dynamics: New evidence from micro data (pp. 109-123). University of Chicago Press. This article attempts to find out the various aspects of firm recruitment from data collected and published by JOSTS.
• The Genesis of an Establishment Survey: Research and Development for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey at the BLS, Mueller, C., & Phillips, M. A. (2000). Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association, Proceedings of the Section on Government Statistics. This paper explains how JOLTS is expected to fill the existing gap in employment data when it debuts. When JOLTS is used together with employment count and the unemployment rate, it gives a robust view of the economy of the US.
• What an Indicator of Labor Demand Means for US Labor Market Analysis: Initial Results from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, Clark, K. A. (1997). Dynamics, 3-19. This paper focuses on the rates of job openings produced by the JOLTS program and how it fills the unemployment rate and compares with the Conference Board's Help-Wanted Advertising Index.
• The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey: Preparing to Publish Data for a New Survey, Clark, K. A., Phillips, M. A., & Stephens, B. (2001).Washington, DC, Bureau of Labor Statistics (www. bls. gov/osmr/pdf/st010220. pdf), no date. This article shows how staff from JOLTS have been collecting, analyzing and then preparing data for publication since 2002.
• Developing a new business survey: Job openings and labor turnover survey at the bureau of labor statistics, Mueller, C., Wohlford, J., & Wohlford, B. J. (2008). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the survey goals, concepts, sampling procedures, collection methods, and estimation and publication plans of JOLTS and also to review the research carried out in its development.
• The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, Phillips, M. A., & Devens, R. M. (2000). Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 39(4), 714-715. This paper describes JOLTs as a detailed report published each month in the US Job market by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• ENSURING DATA QUALITY IN THE JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER SURVEY, Mueller, C., & Balazik, M. (2001, August). In Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Statistical Association. This paper explains how the new JOLTS has excellent flexibility and opportunity in choosing how to edit and review the data and how to handle the output.
• Window on Washington: Data for Managing Tight Labor Markets: The New Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, Cork, D., Cohen, M., & Abraham, K. G. (2003). CHANCE, 16(2), 58-62. This article explains how JOSTS is expected to provide data that can be used in the management of tight labor markets.