BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

02/27/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/27/2026 10:28

Ohio Job Openings and Labor Turnover — December 2025

News Release Information

26-304-CHI
Friday, February 27, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Ohio Job Openings and Labor Turnover - December 2025

Ohio had 278,000 job openings in December 2025, compared to 253,000 openings in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the job openings rate in Ohio was 4.6 percent in December and 4.2 percent in the previous month. (See chart 1 and table 2.) The job openings rate nationally was 3.9 percent in December and 4.2 percent in November. (See table 3.) All data in this release are seasonally adjusted.

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

Dec 2021

7.4 7.1

Jan 2022

6.6 7.0

Feb 2022

7.6 7.2

Mar 2022

7.1 7.4

Apr 2022

7.1 7.3

May 2022

6.9 7.0

Jun 2022

7.4 6.9

Jul 2022

6.9 7.1

Aug 2022

6.2 6.2

Sep 2022

6.7 6.6

Oct 2022

6.1 6.4

Nov 2022

6.0 6.4

Dec 2022

6.9 6.6

Jan 2023

6.1 6.3

Feb 2023

5.3 6.0

Mar 2023

5.6 5.8

Apr 2023

6.1 6.0

May 2023

6.3 5.6

Jun 2023

6.0 5.6

Jul 2023

5.1 5.2

Aug 2023

5.9 5.6

Sep 2023

5.8 5.6

Oct 2023

5.4 5.2

Nov 2023

5.1 5.2

Dec 2023

5.4 5.2

Jan 2024

5.2 5.1

Feb 2024

4.7 5.1

Mar 2024

4.8 4.9

Apr 2024

4.2 4.6

May 2024

4.3 4.8

Jun 2024

4.3 4.5

Jul 2024

4.8 4.5

Aug 2024

4.8 4.6

Sep 2024

4.2 4.3

Oct 2024

4.6 4.6

Nov 2024

4.9 4.8

Dec 2024

4.8 4.5

Jan 2025

4.8 4.7

Feb 2025

4.8 4.5

Mar 2025

4.9 4.3

Apr 2025

4.3 4.4

May 2025

4.8 4.6

Jun 2025

4.7 4.4

Jul 2025

4.3 4.3

Aug 2025

4.3 4.3

Sep 2025

4.3 4.6

Oct 2025

4.9 4.5

Nov 2025

4.2 4.2

Dec 2025

4.6 3.9

The ratio of unemployed persons per job opening in Ohio was 1.0 in December. Nationwide, 28 states and the District of Columbia had ratios in December that were lower than the national measure of 1.1 unemployed persons per job opening; 13 states had ratios that were higher than the national ratio, and 9 states had ratios equal to the national measure. (See map 1.)

Map 1. Number of unemployed persons per job opening by state, December 2025, seasonally adjusted

(U.S. ratio = 1.1)


In December, Ohio had 176,000 hires and 202,000 separations, compared to 173,000 hires and 194,000 separations in November. (See chart 2.) Over the 12 months ending in December, hires have averaged 194,000 per month and separations have averaged 199,000 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 Ohio, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Month Hires Total separations

Dec 2021

225 223

Jan 2022

224 212

Feb 2022

211 219

Mar 2022

216 188

Apr 2022

224 199

May 2022

241 196

Jun 2022

242 237

Jul 2022

236 204

Aug 2022

224 212

Sep 2022

203 207

Oct 2022

220 212

Nov 2022

220 198

Dec 2022

198 230

Jan 2023

237 219

Feb 2023

197 200

Mar 2023

207 201

Apr 2023

206 207

May 2023

194 207

Jun 2023

193 195

Jul 2023

194 211

Aug 2023

207 216

Sep 2023

237 199

Oct 2023

197 204

Nov 2023

171 200

Dec 2023

179 184

Jan 2024

179 182

Feb 2024

210 219

Mar 2024

193 193

Apr 2024

208 205

May 2024

210 192

Jun 2024

199 183

Jul 2024

183 194

Aug 2024

185 201

Sep 2024

188 193

Oct 2024

185 201

Nov 2024

178 191

Dec 2024

193 194

Jan 2025

212 205

Feb 2025

193 174

Mar 2025

196 208

Apr 2025

190 213

May 2025

215 207

Jun 2025

193 232

Jul 2025

196 179

Aug 2025

187 185

Sep 2025

196 189

Oct 2025

206 196

Nov 2025

173 194

Dec 2025

176 202

Among the December separations in Ohio, 143,000 were quits and 52,000 were layoffs and discharges, compared to 135,000 quits and 52,000 layoffs and discharges in November. (See chart 3.) Over the year, quits averaged 131,000 per month, ranging from 105,000 to 162,000. Layoffs and discharges have averaged 58,000 per month, ranging from 50,000 to 70,000.

View Chart Data
Chart 3. Quits and layoffs and discharges in Ohio, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Month Quits Layoffs & discharges

Dec 2021

161 50

Jan 2022

149 52

Feb 2022

167 42

Mar 2022

134 46

Apr 2022

135 50

May 2022

131 53

Jun 2022

135 86

Jul 2022

113 82

Aug 2022

141 59

Sep 2022

141 58

Oct 2022

134 67

Nov 2022

138 43

Dec 2022

160 60

Jan 2023

140 71

Feb 2023

128 57

Mar 2023

136 60

Apr 2023

105 82

May 2023

136 55

Jun 2023

128 54

Jul 2023

130 61

Aug 2023

150 59

Sep 2023

124 61

Oct 2023

128 62

Nov 2023

131 59

Dec 2023

117 54

Jan 2024

110 49

Feb 2024

128 77

Mar 2024

121 54

Apr 2024

129 67

May 2024

117 62

Jun 2024

113 61

Jul 2024

124 62

Aug 2024

118 73

Sep 2024

109 76

Oct 2024

131 59

Nov 2024

122 57

Dec 2024

113 71

Jan 2025

129 64

Feb 2025

118 50

Mar 2025

134 63

Apr 2025

143 61

May 2025

137 61

Jun 2025

162 58

Jul 2025

116 54

Aug 2025

105 70

Sep 2025

126 54

Oct 2025

125 61

Nov 2025

135 52

Dec 2025

143 52
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 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.


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.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Job openings and labor turnover for Ohio, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Estimate December 2024 September 2025 October 2025 November 2025 December 2025(p) Change from November 2025 to December 2025(p)

Openings

287 259 294 253 278 25

Hires

193 196 206 173 176 3

Total separations

194 189 196 194 202 8

Quits

113 126 125 135 143 8

Layoffs & discharges

71 54 61 52 52 0

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.

Table 2. Job openings and labor turnover rates for Ohio, seasonally adjusted
Estimate December 2024 September 2025 October 2025 November 2025 December 2025(p) Change from November 2025 to December 2025(p)

Openings(1)

4.8 4.3 4.9 4.2 4.6 0.4

Hires(2)

3.4 3.4 3.6 3.0 3.1 0.1

Total separations(3)

3.4 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.5 0.1

Quits(3)

2.0 2.2 2.2 2.4 2.5 0.1

Layoffs & discharges(3)

1.3 0.9 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.0

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 December 2024 September 2025 October 2025 November 2025 December 2025(p) Change from November 2025 to December 2025(p)

Openings(1)

4.5 4.6 4.5 4.2 3.9 -0.3

Hires(2)

3.4 3.4 3.4 3.2 3.3 0.1

Total separations(3)

3.2 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.3 0.1

Quits(3)

1.9 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.0 0.0

Layoffs & discharges(3)

1.1 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.1 0.0

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.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on February 27, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on February 27, 2026 at 16:28 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]