Analysis of South Carolina Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Data 

By Taylor Hendrix, Workforce Insights Analyst 

National Results 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released their Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) results at the statewide level for September 2023. Overall, little to no changes in job openings, hires, and total separations occurred in most states for the month. Job Openings rates decreased in three states and increased in one state; hire rates decreased in one state and increased in one state; and total separation rates decreased in six states. Rates are a calculation of each parameter as a percent of the state’s total employment, thereby allowing a “big picture” context for the raw changes.

For full details of other states, readers can visit https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jltst.nr0.htm. Let’s look at the South Carolina JOLTS data results.

South Carolina Data Breakdown 

August to September 2023

The state has seen very little change among job openings, hires, and separations from August to September 2023. Job openings increased by 2K over the month, hires dropped by 8K over the month, and separations remained the same. Within separations, quits saw a 0.1 percentage point drop over the month while layoffs/discharges saw a 0.1 percentage point increase.

September 2022 to September 2023

Similar to the month-over-month comparison, little change occurred in the rates of job openings, hires, and separations from September 2022 to September 2023. Job openings saw a 0.1 percentage point decrease over that time frame, hires saw a 0.6 percentage point decrease, and separations saw a 0.2 percentage point increase. Within separations, quits saw a 3K drop and layoffs/discharges saw an 11K increase.

This steady JOLTS data, along with South Carolina’s low unemployment rate and record number of people working, indicates the state economy remains strong. Businesses are continuing to hire and retain workers and individuals have employment choices and security.