Virginia's Job Hires Increased in January 

~ —Workers Held on to Jobs to Begin 2025— ~

• Virginia’s Job Hires Increased in January 

  RICHMOND— Virginia Works (the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement) announced today that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January 2025 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reports steady conditions in Virginia job openings and job separations. According to the most recent BLS JOLTS survey data, the number of January 2025 job hires in Virginia increased by 22,000 over the month but were six percent lower than a year earlier.

  On the last business day in January, there were 259,000 job openings in Virginia, seasonally adjusted, an increase of 13,000 from December’s revised figure. Job openings fell by a third from their July 2022 high of 365,000 openings. Nationwide, the number of job openings was little changed at 7.7 million in January but was down by 728,000 over the year. The number of job openings significantly increased in real estate and rental and leasing (+46,000).  

  In Virginia, the January job openings rate rose to 5.7 percent, a .03 ppt increase from December’s revised rate. Nationwide, the job openings rate, at 4.6 percent, changed little over the month.

  The number of hires in Virginia rose to 163,000 in January, an increase of 22,000 over the month but down by 6,000 from January 2024. hires were unchanged at 5.4 million. Hires significantly decreased in mining and logging (-6,000). In Virginia, the 3.8 hires rate increased from December’s revised 3.3 percent rate. In January, the rate of hires nationwide was 3.4 percent.

  The Virginia hires-per-job-openings (HPJO) ratio was little changed at six hires for every ten job openings, lower than nationwide. In January 2025, there were 0.5 unemployed per job opening in the Commonwealth, compared to 0.9 unemployed per job opening nationwide.

  Total job separations in Virginia increased by 4,000 to 141,000. The number of total separations was also two thirds lower than the high set in March 2020 during the pandemic shutdowns. The number of total separations nationwide in January was little changed at 5.3 million.

  The Virginia total separations rate was little changed at 3.3 percent, remaining at levels seen in recent months. The U.S. total separations rate remained unchanged at 3.3 percent over the month.

  An estimated 81,000 workers quit jobs from Virginia employers in January. The number of quits was down from December’s revised figure to its lowest level since 2020. This was 21 percent lower over-the-year and 23 percent lower than five years earlier. In January, the number of U.S. quits was little changed at 3.3 million. U.S. quits increased in construction (+53,000) and in mining and logging (+6,000).

  The quits rate in the Commonwealth was 1.9 percent, which was lower than typically seen in recent years. Over the month, the U.S. quits rate was little changed at 2.1 percent. The January ‘churn’ rate (the sum of the hires rate and total separations rate) in Virginia rose by 0.6 of a percentage point from December’s revised 6.5 percent figure and was driven by hiring increases. It exceeded the U.S. churn rate, which was little changed over the month.

  The number of layoffs and discharges in Virginia was 49,000 in January, an increase of 11,000 from December’s revised estimate. This was up 17 percent over the year. In January, the number of U.S. layoffs and discharges changed little at 1.6 million. Layoffs and discharges decreased in mining and logging (-8,000). Across the country, Federal layoffs numbered 4,000—a low number but on par with recent years’ trends. The Virginia layoffs and discharges rate edged up to 1.1 percent in January. The U.S. layoffs and discharges rate remained little changed at 1.0 percent.

  Job Openings: Job openings include all positions that are open on the last business day of the reference month. A job is open only if it meets the following three conditions: (1) A specific position exists and there is work available for that position; the position can be full time or part time, and it can be permanent, short term, or seasonal; (2) the job could start within 30 days, whether or not the employer can find a suitable candidate during that time; and (3) the employer is actively recruiting workers from outside the establishment to fill the position. Excluded are positions open only to internal transfers, promotions or demotions, or recalls from layoffs.

  Hires: Hires include all additions to the payroll during the entire reference month, including newly hired and rehired employees; full-time and part-time employees; permanent, short-term, and seasonal employees; employees who were recalled to a job at the location following a layoff (formal suspension from pay status) lasting more than 7 days; on-call or intermittent employees who returned to work after having been formally separated; workers who were hired and separated during the month; and transfers from other locations. Excluded are transfers or promotions within the reporting location, employees returning from a strike, and employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, outside contractors, or consultants.

  Separations: Separations include all separations from the payroll during the entire reference month and are reported by type of separation: quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Quits include employees who left voluntarily, except for retirements or transfers to other locations. Layoffs and discharges include involuntary separations initiated by the employer, including layoffs with no intent to rehire; layoffs (formal suspensions from pay status) lasting or expected to last more than 7 days; discharges resulting from mergers, downsizing, or closings; firings or other discharges for cause; terminations of permanent or short-term employees; and terminations of seasonal employees (whether or not they are expected to return the next season). Other separations include retirements, transfers to other locations, separations due to employee disability, and deaths. Excluded are transfers within the same location, employees on strike, and employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, outside contractors, or consultants.

  *Excerpted from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey: Concepts,” https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/jlt/concepts.htm.

  Virginia Works plans to release the February 2025 analysis of the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for Virginia on Tuesday April 22, 2025. The data for all states and the U.S. will be available on the BLS website JOLTS page, at https://www.bls.gov/jlt/. BLS is scheduled to release the February JOLTS data for states on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

  Technical note: Effective with this release, the U.S. Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) estimates will incorporate the annual updates to the Current Employment Statistics employment data and the JOLTS seasonal adjustment factors. Effective with the release of May 2025 data, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) state estimates will be benchmarked and revised to include the annual benchmark revisions to JOLTS national estimates, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates, and the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data. Seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data from January 2019 forward are subject to revision. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) produces monthly data on U.S. and

  For more information on the program’s concepts and methodology, see “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey: Handbook of Methods” (Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 13, 2020), https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/jlt/home.htm. For more information on BLS’ state JOLTS estimates, see https://www.bls.gov/jlt/jlt_statedata.htm. Definitions of JOLTS terms*