September 22, 2025
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RICHMOND Virginia Works (the Virginia Department of Workforce
Development and Advancement) announced today that on the last business day in
July, there were 220,000 job openings in Virginia, seasonally adjusted, an
increase of 3,000 from June s downwardly revised figure.
According to the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics July 2025 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), Job
openings were 19 percent lower than July 2024 s figure. The number of U.S. job
openings were little changed at 7.2 million in July. Job openings significantly
decreased in health care and social assistance (-181,000); arts, entertainment,
and recreation (-62,000); and mining and logging (-13,000).
In July 2025, there were 0.7 unemployed
per job opening in the Commonwealth, compared to one unemployed per job
opening nationwide.
The number of hires in
Virginia was 147,000 in July, up by 4,000 from June s revised figure and little
changed over the year. JOLTS defines hires as all additions to the payroll
during the month. In July, the
number of U.S. hires was little changed at 5.3 million. Nationwide, hires
increased in Other Services (+86,000).
The Virginia hires-per-job-opening (HPJO) ratio stood at seven hires for every
ten job openings in July. The measure shows the rate of hires compared to open
jobs and is a proxy for time to fill positions. Total job separations in Virginia increased by 12,000 to 138,000.
Nationwide, the number of total separations in June was little changed at 5.3
million. An estimated 81,000 workers quit jobs ( quits ) from
Virginia employers in July, up by 1,000 over the month. Nationwide in July, the
number of quits was little changed at 3.2 million. The number of U.S. quits
increased in professional and business services (+197,000). Quits decreased in
construction (-80,000) and in transportation, warehousing, and utilities
(-49,000). The quits rate in the Commonwealth was unchanged at 1.9 percent.
Over the month, the U.S. quits rate was unchanged at 2.0 percent.
The number of layoffs and
discharges in Virginia was 52,000 in July, an increase of 15,000 from
June s revised estimate. In July, the number of U.S. layoffs and discharges was
unchanged at 1.8 million. Layoffs and discharges decreased in professional and
business services (-130,000) but increased in federal government (+5,000).
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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 August 2025 analysis of the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for Virginia on Friday October 24, 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
August JOLTS data for states on Wednesday October 22, 2025.
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