As the COVID-19 pandemic affects the nation, hires and turnover reach record highs in 2020

Abstract

Data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) highlight the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the results of efforts to mitigate its spread in 2020. With the challenges of the pandemic, many of the JOLTS data elements experienced shocks early in the year before returning to previous trends. In fact, many of the data elements experienced series highs. For example, the hires level reached a series high of 8.3 million in May 2020, bouncing back from a depressed level of 3.9 million in April 2020. The total separations level, also referred as turnover, reached a series high of 16.3 million in March 2020, boosted largely by a spike in layoffs and discharges.