Job Openings and Labor Turnover, November 2025
By Lainey Stalnaker, Data Analytics Writer
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), released monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), provides essential information on South Carolina’s labor market. Both the U.S. and South Carolina recorded a 0.1-point increase in the unemployed persons per job opening ratio from September 2025 to November 2025. (October data are not available due to a lapse in federal funding.) South Carolina’s ratio was 1.0, just under the U.S. ratio of 1.1.
The table below compares unemployed persons per job opening ratios in the Southeast region for the month of November.[2] South Carolina’s ratio was 1.0, up from 0.7 in November of 2024.
| Regional Job Openings ratios | ||||||||
KY | TN | NC | SC | GA | FL | AL | MS | ||
| NOVEMBER 2025 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.7 | |
| NOVEMBER 2024 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | |
Other key statistics released in the monthly JOLTS report include:
- Job Openings Rate: The number of positions open during the month as a percentage of all jobs and job openings.
- Hires Rate: The number of people hired during the month as a percentage of total employment.
- Separations Rate: The number of people separated from their jobs during the month as a percentage of total employment. Within this category, the quits rate is the proportion of people who voluntarily left their jobs, while the layoffs and discharges rate (hereafter referred to as the layoffs rate) is the proportion of people who involuntarily left their jobs, which may have resulted from business closures, layoffs, downsizing, or firing for cause. Separations resulting from retirements, transfers, or deaths are included in the total separations rate.
| JOLTS Key Ratio Statistics, NOVEMBER 2025 (In Percent) | ||||||||
KY | TN | NC | SC | GA | FL | AL | MS | ||
| Job Openings RATE | 4.7 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 5.6 | |
| Hires Rate | 2.8 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.4 | |
| Total Separations Rate | 3.2 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.6 | |
| Quits Rate | 2.1 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.5 | |
| Layoffs Rate | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.0 | |
In November of 2025, South Carolina’s hires rate was again tied for highest in the Southeast region. The state’s job openings rate was unchanged from October. Separations were somewhat elevated compared to the rest of the region. At 3.8, the rate was second only to Tennessee. The layoffs rate was down from 1.6 in October, but the quits rate rose from 2.1 to 2.5, keeping the overall separations rate stable over the month.
[1]https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jltst.nr0.htm
[2] The Southeast region is defined by the Department of Labor and includes Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.