September 2026 JOLTS Report: What Rising Quits Mean for Job Seekers

The September 2026 JOLTS report, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on November 3, showed about 7.5 million job openings, 5.4 million hires, quits rising to 3.4 million and layoffs holding near 1.6 million. For job seekers, the useful signal is quits: when more people leave jobs, more seats open up behind them. It is one month of data, the BLS itself called openings and hires "little changed," and it does not mean the slow-hiring market is over. But it is a reason to keep searching actively this fall rather than waiting.

Headlines framed the report in very different ways. The Associated Press said job postings "jumped sharply." The BLS release, which is more cautious by design, described openings as little changed. Both can be true at once, and the gap between them is worth understanding before you decide what, if anything, to change in your search.

What the September JOLTS report actually said

JOLTS, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, measures how many jobs employers are trying to fill and how many people are being hired, quitting or being let go. These are the main September 2026 figures from the BLS release:

• Job openings: about 7.5 million, a rate of 4.5 percent, which the BLS called little changed. Openings rose in state and local government outside education, by 104,000.
• Hires: about 5.4 million, a rate of 3.4 percent, also little changed. Hires rose in accommodation and food services.
• Quits: up to about 3.4 million, with the rate little changed at 2.1 percent. Quits were up 375,000 over the year.
• Layoffs and discharges: about 1.6 million, a rate of 1.0 percent, little changed. They fell in health care and social assistance.

The AP's report on the release added context. It said openings rose from a revised 7.19 million in August to the most since May, quits reached their highest level in about 18 months, and layoffs fell to the fewest since March 2025. It also reported that professional and business services had the biggest increase in openings, with manufacturing, shipping and state and local government also posting more.

Why "jumped" and "little changed" can both be right

The BLS describes changes as "little changed" when they are not large enough to be confident they are real rather than noise in a survey. A rise of a few hundred thousand openings can sound big in a headline and still fall within that margin. News reports, by contrast, compare the latest figure with recent months and highlight the direction.

For your job search, the practical reading is simple: September did not get worse, and several measures moved in the direction job seekers want. That is encouraging, not decisive. The AP quoted ZipRecruiter labor economist Nicole Bachaud cautioning that, with inflation high and interest rates up since the summer, employers may not ramp up hiring much in the coming months. We covered how rate increases reach hiring in our post on the 2026 Fed rate hike and your job search.

Why rising quits matter most for job seekers

Of all the numbers in the report, quits tell you the most about how the market feels from the inside. People usually quit when they have another job lined up or are confident they can find one. When quits rise, two things tend to follow.

More openings behind the people who leave

Every person who quits leaves a seat to fill. For much of the past few years, the market has been described as "low churn": people held on to their jobs, layoffs stayed low and fewer roles opened up naturally. Our fall 2026 job-market overview explains why low churn makes searches slow even when openings look healthy. A rise in quits is the first sign that churn may be loosening. If it continues, more backfill roles appear, and some of them are filled quickly because the team needs someone now.

Better conditions for people who already have a job

Rising quits also suggest employed workers feel more able to move. If you are in a job and quietly looking, that is a good sign for your leverage, though not a guarantee. Our guides to job searching while employed and whether switching jobs is still worth it in 2026 cover how to use that window without putting your current role at risk.

One caution: much of September's increase in quits came from accommodation and food services, according to the BLS, where turnover is always high. So the change is not spread evenly across every field, and professional roles may not feel it yet.

Where the openings were

The industry detail is more useful than the headline total, because it tells you where to look.

• State and local government. The BLS reported a rise of 104,000 openings in state and local government outside education. Public-sector hiring has its own rules, timelines and application formats, which we cover in how to get a government job.
• Professional and business services. The AP said this sector had the largest increase, including engineering, accounting and temporary work. Temporary and contract roles can be a faster route back into work; see whether to take a contract-to-hire job.
• Accommodation and food services. Hires, quits and separations all rose here, which signals high churn and fast hiring, useful if you need bridge income while you search.

National totals can hide big differences by field and location. Look at what is happening in your own target companies and job titles, not just the national number.

What this does not tell you

It is easy to read too much into one report. A few limits are worth keeping in mind:

• It is one month. Single-month JOLTS figures are often revised, and trends matter more than any one reading.
• Openings are not hires. A posted role may stay open for weeks, be filled internally or never be filled at all. Hires were essentially flat in September.
• It is already two months old. JOLTS describes September. The October jobs report, due on Friday, November 6, will add more recent information on employment and unemployment.
• Your field may differ. A rise driven by government, hospitality and temporary work says little about, for example, senior software or marketing roles.

What to do with this information

You do not need to overhaul your search because of one report. But a market that is steady to slightly better rewards people who are actively applying and ready to move quickly. Here is how to put that to use.

Stay active through the end of the year

Many people slow down their search in November and December, assuming nothing happens until January. Employers that still have open roles and budget to spend often keep interviewing. Fewer applicants and steady openings can work in your favour. If you need to move quickly, our new guide on how to find a job fast sets out a focused plan.

Watch for backfill roles

Rising quits mean more replacement openings. These are often posted quickly and filled quickly. Set alerts for your target titles at the companies you care about, and apply within a day or two of a posting going live.

Make each application count

Even with more openings, competition for good roles remains strong. A resume tailored to each job description, plus a referral where you can get one, still does more than a higher volume of generic applications. Tools like Tailorapply exist to make tailoring quick enough that you can apply early without sending the same resume everywhere.

Use the signal in negotiations, carefully

If you are employed and receive an offer, a market where more people are confident enough to quit is a reasonable backdrop for negotiating. Ground your ask in the role and the market rate for your field, not in national headlines, which a hiring manager can easily dismiss.

The bottom line

The September 2026 JOLTS report was modestly encouraging for job seekers: openings steady at about 7.5 million, layoffs low and quits rising to their highest level in about 18 months, according to the AP. It is not proof that hiring is about to take off, and the BLS describes most of the changes as small. Treat it as a reason to keep your search moving through the end of the year, watch for replacement roles in your field and make every application specific to the job.