Job Openings and Labor Turnover, January 2025
By Lainey Stalnaker, Data Analytics Writer
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), released monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), provides essential information on South Carolina’s labor market.[1] In the first month of 2025, South Carolina’s unemployed person per job opening ratio increased marginally and is now equal to the U.S. ratio of 0.9.
The table below compares unemployed persons per job opening ratios in the Southeast Region.[1] There is less than one unemployed person for each open position found in the states in our region.
| Regional Job Openings ratios | ||||||||
KY | TN | NC | SC | GA | FL | AL | MS | ||
| January 2025 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.8 | |
| January 2024 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | |
Other key statistics released in the monthly JOLTS report include:
- Job openings rate: the number of positions open during the month as a percentage of all jobs and job openings.
- Hires rate: the number of people hired during the month as a percentage of total employment.
Separations rate: the number of people separated from their jobs during the month as a percentage of total employment. The quits rate is the proportion of people who voluntarily left their jobs, and the layoffs and discharges rate is the proportion of people who involuntarily left their jobs as a result of business closures, layoffs, downsizing, or firing for cause. Separations resulting from retirements, transfers, or deaths are included in the total separations rate.
In South Carolina, the job openings rate was 4.9 in January, on par with other states in the region. The hires rate was 4.4, the highest in the region, and the total separations rate was 3.8, driven primarily by a slightly higher quits rate.
| JOLTS Key Ratio Statistics, January 2025 | ||||||||
KY | TN | NC | SC | GA | FL | AL | MS | ||
| Job Openings RATE | 6.1 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 4.7 | |
| HireS Rate | 3.3 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.1 | |
| Total SeparationS Rate | 3.6 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.5 | |
| QuitS Rate | 2.1 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.3 | |
| LayoffS Rate | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
South Carolina’s job openings rate was about average compared to its neighbors, along with the layoffs and discharges rate, but the hires rate surpassed all other states in the Southeast. This suggests that within South Carolina’s labor market, job seekers are not staying unemployed for as long, and employers are able to quickly fill positions with qualified candidates. This may also explain the slightly elevated quits rate—favorable hiring conditions are encouraging people to seek (and take) new job opportunities.
[1] The Southeast Region is defined by the Department of Labor and includes Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
[1] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jltst.nr0.htm