JOLTS Day Graphs: August 2021 Edition
The quits rate rose to 2.9 percent as nearly 4.3 million workers quit their jobs in August, while the job openings rate decreased to 6.6 percent.
![Quits as a percent of total U.S. employment, 2001-2021. Recessions are shaded.](https://equitablegrowth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/August-2021-When-workers-are-less-confident-about-the-labor-market-the-quits-rate-tends-to-decline-1080x762.png)
The vacancy yield declined slightly in August, remaining very low with job openings at 10.4 million—down 659,000 after a series high in July.
![U.S. total nonfarm hires per total nonfarm job openings, 2001-2021. Recessions are shaded.](https://equitablegrowth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/August-2021-During-typical-recessions-job-openings-tend-to-yield-more-hires-1080x762.png)
Job openings declined in August, including in sectors that had seen strong recent gains such as the education and health services, manufacturing, and leisure and hospitality.
![Job openings by selected major U.S. industry, indexed to job openings in February 2020](https://equitablegrowth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/August-2021-The-recovery-of-job-openings-varies-widely-across-industries-1080x928.png)
The ratio of unemployed-workers-per-job-opening increased from 0.78 in July to 0.80 in August, still similar to the low levels last seen immediately before the coronavirus recession.
![U.S. unemployed workers per total nonfarm job opening, 2001-2020. Recessions are shaded.](https://equitablegrowth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/August-2021-Recessions-usually-increase-the-bargaining-power-of-employers-1080x762.png)
The Beveridge Curve remained in an atypical, elevated range in August, with declines in both the unemployment rate and the job openings rate.
![The relationship between the U.S. unemployment rate and the job openings rate, 2001-2021.](https://equitablegrowth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/August-2021-The-Beveridge-Curve-shows-that-when-unemployment-increases-job-vacancies-tend-to-decline-1080x921.png)