Debunking common misconceptions about the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey: BLS research disproves overcounting and other myths in JOLTS data

In March and April 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, job openings experienced declines before exhibiting a steep upward trend—reaching a series high of 12.3 million in March 2022, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The sharp increase was often attributed to economic changes brought about by the pandemic, while some suggested that it reflected noneconomic processing issues that led to overestimation. This article addresses a number of common misconceptions about JOLTS, its concepts, and its methods, with the aim of increasing the public’s knowledge of this important economic indicator. The U.S.