BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

01/09/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/09/2026 14:03

District of Columbia Job Openings and Labor Turnover — October 2025

News Release Information

26-67-PHI
Friday, January 09, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

District of Columbia Job Openings and Labor Turnover - October 2025

The District of Columbia had 33,000 job openings in October 2025, compared to 36,000 openings in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the job openings rate in the District of Columbia was 4.2 percent in October and 4.5 percent in the previous month. (See chart 1 and table 2.) The job openings rate nationally was 4.5 percent in October and 4.6 percent in September. (See table 3.) All data in this release are seasonally adjusted.

View Chart Data
Chart 1. Job openings rates for the United States and the District of Columbia, seasonally adjusted
Month District of Columbia United States

Oct 2021

6.2 7.1

Nov 2021

5.9 6.9

Dec 2021

6.1 7.1

Jan 2022

5.4 7.0

Feb 2022

5.4 7.2

Mar 2022

6.3 7.4

Apr 2022

6.3 7.3

May 2022

5.4 7.0

Jun 2022

5.3 6.9

Jul 2022

6.7 7.1

Aug 2022

5.0 6.2

Sep 2022

5.2 6.6

Oct 2022

4.9 6.4

Nov 2022

5.5 6.4

Dec 2022

5.3 6.6

Jan 2023

5.9 6.3

Feb 2023

5.2 6.0

Mar 2023

5.1 5.8

Apr 2023

4.5 6.0

May 2023

5.2 5.6

Jun 2023

5.1 5.6

Jul 2023

5.1 5.2

Aug 2023

4.5 5.6

Sep 2023

5.4 5.6

Oct 2023

4.4 5.2

Nov 2023

4.7 5.2

Dec 2023

4.5 5.2

Jan 2024

4.8 5.1

Feb 2024

4.5 5.1

Mar 2024

4.2 4.9

Apr 2024

4.0 4.6

May 2024

4.1 4.8

Jun 2024

3.9 4.5

Jul 2024

3.6 4.5

Aug 2024

4.2 4.6

Sep 2024

4.4 4.3

Oct 2024

4.6 4.6

Nov 2024

3.9 4.8

Dec 2024

5.4 4.5

Jan 2025

4.0 4.7

Feb 2025

3.8 4.5

Mar 2025

3.6 4.3

Apr 2025

3.6 4.4

May 2025

4.2 4.6

Jun 2025

4.0 4.4

Jul 2025

3.4 4.3

Aug 2025

3.9 4.3

Sep 2025

4.5 4.6

Oct 2025

4.2 4.5

In October, the District of Columbia had 17,000 hires and separations, compared to 17,000 hires and 22,000 separations in September. (See chart 2.) Over the 12 months ending in October, hires have averaged 18,000 per month and separations have averaged 20,000 per month. These averages include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.

View Chart Data
Chart 2. Hires and total separations in the District of Columbia, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Month Hires Total separations

Oct 2021

27 20

Nov 2021

26 22

Dec 2021

24 24

Jan 2022

21 22

Feb 2022

23 25

Mar 2022

25 23

Apr 2022

23 26

May 2022

26 24

Jun 2022

24 26

Jul 2022

24 24

Aug 2022

26 25

Sep 2022

22 28

Oct 2022

21 26

Nov 2022

24 24

Dec 2022

22 24

Jan 2023

24 26

Feb 2023

25 25

Mar 2023

25 23

Apr 2023

24 19

May 2023

25 25

Jun 2023

24 22

Jul 2023

24 26

Aug 2023

21 25

Sep 2023

25 22

Oct 2023

19 21

Nov 2023

22 21

Dec 2023

23 23

Jan 2024

21 19

Feb 2024

22 18

Mar 2024

21 20

Apr 2024

21 19

May 2024

21 19

Jun 2024

19 17

Jul 2024

14 20

Aug 2024

19 22

Sep 2024

22 19

Oct 2024

21 20

Nov 2024

15 24

Dec 2024

26 19

Jan 2025

19 20

Feb 2025

17 20

Mar 2025

17 20

Apr 2025

19 20

May 2025

18 19

Jun 2025

17 17

Jul 2025

13 18

Aug 2025

16 19

Sep 2025

17 22

Oct 2025

17 17

Among the October separations in the District of Columbia, 10,000 were quits and 6,000 were layoffs and discharges, compared to 16,000 quits and 4,000 layoffs and discharges in September. (See chart 3.) Over the last 12 months, quits averaged 12,000 per month, ranging from 10,000 to 16,000. Layoffs and discharges have averaged 6,000 per month, ranging from 4,000 to 7,000.

View Chart Data
Chart 3. Quits and layoffs and discharges in the District of Columbia, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Month Quits Layoffs & discharges

Oct 2021

14 5

Nov 2021

16 4

Dec 2021

15 7

Jan 2022

15 5

Feb 2022

17 5

Mar 2022

15 5

Apr 2022

17 5

May 2022

16 6

Jun 2022

19 5

Jul 2022

15 6

Aug 2022

17 6

Sep 2022

21 5

Oct 2022

18 6

Nov 2022

14 9

Dec 2022

16 6

Jan 2023

16 7

Feb 2023

18 5

Mar 2023

16 5

Apr 2023

12 5

May 2023

18 5

Jun 2023

15 5

Jul 2023

17 8

Aug 2023

16 6

Sep 2023

14 6

Oct 2023

13 5

Nov 2023

13 6

Dec 2023

14 6

Jan 2024

11 6

Feb 2024

12 5

Mar 2024

12 6

Apr 2024

13 4

May 2024

12 5

Jun 2024

12 4

Jul 2024

12 6

Aug 2024

13 7

Sep 2024

11 7

Oct 2024

11 8

Nov 2024

15 6

Dec 2024

12 6

Jan 2025

12 6

Feb 2025

12 6

Mar 2025

14 6

Apr 2025

11 7

May 2025

12 4

Jun 2025

10 5

Jul 2025

10 6

Aug 2025

12 5

Sep 2025

16 4

Oct 2025

10 6
Federal Government Shutdown

September 2025 state JOLTS estimates reported in this release include partial data that businesses self-reported electronically during the lapse in appropriations and data collected in November following the shutdown. October 2025 data presented in this release were collected in November following the shutdown, as originally planned. The October 2025 unemployment data are unavailable due to the shutdown, and therefore the number of unemployed persons per job opening is also unavailable.

Additionally, BLS temporarily suspended use of the monthly alignment methodology for October 2025 preliminary estimates; use of this methodology will resume with the publication of October 2025 final estimates. See the State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Technical Note for information on state JOLTS alignment methodology.

Upcoming Change to the JOLTS State Estimates

The national State Job Openings and Labor Turnover news release will move from a monthly news release to an annual news release. The last monthly news release will occur with the December 2025 data published in February 2026. The first annual news release will be in July 2026. Going forward, monthly estimates for the prior calendar year will be published each year along with the annual news release. The annual news release will incorporate benchmark revisions to JOLTS national estimates, updated Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates, and updated Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data.

State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for November 2025 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).


Technical Note

This news release presents statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The JOLTS program provides information on labor demand and turnover. The state estimates produced by JOLTS are model-based, incorporating JOLTS sample, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), and Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates. For more information see the JOLTS State Estimates Methodology.

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 all three of these conditions:

  • A specific position exists and there is work available for that position.
  • The job could start within 30 days.
  • The employer is actively recruiting workers from outside the establishment to fill the position.

The number of unemployed persons per job opening is a ratio of the level of unemployed persons and the level of job openings. The number of unemployed persons at the national level is an estimate from the Current Population Survey (CPS), while state-level unemployment estimates are modeled by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. A ratio of 1.0 means there is a job available for every unemployed person. Lower ratios signal tighter labor markets, where firms have more job openings than there are unemployed persons available to work. Higher ratios indicate there are more unemployed persons competing for each job opening.

Hires. Hires include all additions to the payroll during the entire reference month.

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.
  • Other separations include retirements, transfers to other locations, separations due to employee disability, and deaths.

Levels and rates of other separations represent a small portion of total separations and are not published with the release of state estimates.

Complete definitions, including exclusions, and additional information about the State JOLTS data presented in this release are available in the State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Technical Note.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Job openings and labor turnover for the District of Columbia, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Estimate October 2024 July 2025 August 2025 September 2025 October 2025(p) Change from September 2025 to October 2025(p)

Openings

37 27 31 36 33 -3

Hires

21 13 16 17 17 0

Total separations

20 18 19 22 17 -5

Quits

11 10 12 16 10 -6

Layoffs & discharges

8 6 5 4 6 2

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.

Table 2. Job openings and labor turnover rates for the District of Columbia, seasonally adjusted
Estimate October 2024 July 2025 August 2025 September 2025 October 2025(p) Change from September 2025 to October 2025(p)

Openings(1)

4.6 3.4 3.9 4.5 4.2 -0.3

Hires(2)

2.7 1.7 2.1 2.2 2.2 0.0

Total separations(3)

2.6 2.4 2.5 2.9 2.2 -0.7

Quits(3)

1.4 1.3 1.6 2.1 1.3 -0.8

Layoffs & discharges(3)

1.0 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.8 0.3

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.
(1) The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(2) The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(3) The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits and layoffs and discharges rates are computed similarly.

Table 3. Job openings and labor turnover rates for the United States, seasonally adjusted
Estimate October 2024 July 2025 August 2025 September 2025 October 2025 Change from September 2025 to October 2025

Openings(1)

4.6 4.3 4.3 4.6 4.5 -0.1

Hires(2)

3.4 3.3 3.2 3.4 3.4 0.0

Total separations(3)

3.3 3.3 3.2 3.3 3.2 -0.1

Quits(3)

2.0 2.0 1.9 2.0 1.9 -0.1

Layoffs & discharges(3)

1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 0.1

Footnotes:
(1) The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(2) The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(3) The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits and layoffs and discharges rates are computed similarly.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on January 09, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on January 09, 2026 at 20:03 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]