On November 3, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that quits increased to three point four million in September, while layoffs and discharges changed little at one point six million. Job openings were little changed at seven point five million and hires changed little at five point four million. For a talent leader, that combination changes the assignment. The hiring problem is no longer mainly finding people who were pushed out of work. It is keeping the people you have, and replacing the ones who choose to leave, before their knowledge walks out with them.
What did the September JOLTS release actually show?
Start with what the survey counts. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey counts job openings as positions open on the last business day of the month, while hires and separations count every change during the entire month. Openings are a stock at one date and hires are a flow over a month, with different denominators, so the gap between them is not a conversion rate and it is not a measure of time to fill.
On that basis, September was a month of movement without growth. Job openings were little changed at seven point five million, a rate of four point five percent. Hires changed little at five point four million, a rate of three point four percent. Total separations were little changed at five point three million, a rate of three point three percent. Within separations, quits increased to three point four million, while the quits rate was little changed at two point one percent. Over the year, total nonfarm quits increased by 375,000. Layoffs and discharges changed little at one point six million, a rate of one point zero percent, and other separations were little changed at 313,000. The Bureau also revised August: openings up by 111,000 to seven point two million, hires up by 79,000 to five point three million, quits down by 22,000 to three point zero million, and layoffs and discharges up by 127,000 to one point eight million. September figures are preliminary and will be revised when the October release arrives on December 1.
The industry detail points to where the movement sat. Quits increased in accommodation and food services by 197,000, while quits decreased in arts, entertainment, and recreation by 19,000. Hires increased in accommodation and food services by 158,000, and total separations there increased by 195,000. Job openings increased in state and local government, excluding education, by 104,000, and layoffs and discharges decreased in health care and social assistance by 70,000. The wider employment picture from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation for September 2026, released October 2, fits the same shape: total nonfarm payroll employment changed little, up 29,000, against an average monthly gain of 45,000 over the prior 12 months, while the unemployment rate was four point two percent and the number of unemployed people was seven point one million, both changed little.
Why does a rise in quits change the hiring job?
Because quits are voluntary separations initiated by the employee, and the Bureau says the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers willingness or ability to leave jobs. When layoffs are low, the people you need to hire are mostly already employed somewhere else, including, uncomfortably, at your own company. Every departure also removes someone who knew the systems, the customers, and the unwritten rules of the role.
Put the national pace on one team as a plain illustration. At the September quits rate of two point one percent a month, a 200-person operations team would see about four departures a month, roughly 50 over a year, before any growth hiring at all. Real teams vary widely, but it shows why a quits increase lands as workload even when headcount ends the year flat.
What workers say about leaving points the playbook toward the team itself, not only toward the search. In its Q3 2026 Global Employee Monitor, based on responses from 5,107 workers across 26 countries collected between July 8 and August 8, 2026, SHRM found pay remained the strongest influence on decisions to join, stay with, or leave an organization, while belonging was the only workplace characteristic identified as a statistically significant predictor of engagement, retention, turnover intent, and job search. Just 18 percent of workers satisfied with their sense of belonging had seriously considered quitting during the previous year, compared with 61 percent of those who were dissatisfied, while 74 percent of workers overall said they felt a sense of belonging at their organizations. Forty percent had searched for a new job within the past year, up from 37 percent in the first and second quarters, while 59 percent were more inclined to stay with their current employer than leave. SHRM also ties retention and turnover strongly to job security, work-life balance, respectful workplaces, and relationships with managers. Those are survey associations, not proof, but they point the retention conversation at pay, the manager, the schedule, and belonging.
What should talent leaders do before the next requisition opens?
First, run a retention check on the team with the vacancy before the external search starts. Ask the manager three questions and write down the answers: who on this team is at risk of leaving in the next quarter, what would change their mind, and what has already been promised and not delivered. If the answers point to workload, schedule, or growth, fix what can be fixed first.
Second, look inside before looking outside. For hard to fill technical roles in network operations, cyber defense, field service, and data center operations, the fastest qualified candidate is often already on the payroll in an adjacent role, or a prior finalist who was kept warm with honest feedback. Internal moves and returning finalists skip the longest part of an external search.
Third, agree the decision rule before the final interviews, not in the meeting. Name who decides, what counts as a veto, and how quickly an offer follows a yes. A consistent process with the same criteria for every candidate, a named owner for every handoff, and a prompt answer to every finalist keeps a slow decision from turning a willing candidate into a lost one. Write the role around the work itself: the systems, the shift pattern, the on-call load, and the travel, stated plainly.
What should you check before the next requisition opens?
Quits at three point four million do not mean every team is losing people, and one month does not make a trend: the October release on December 1 will show whether September was a spike or a turn. But the shape of September is clear enough to act on. Openings are plentiful, layoffs are low, payroll growth is slow, and the movement in the market is increasingly voluntary. The playbook that fits that shape treats retention as the first step of hiring, keeps a warm bench of internal candidates and prior finalists, and runs a fast, consistent process for the roles that still need an external search. For operating companies hiring technical talent, the work starts before the requisition: with the team you already have.