Labor turnover picks up in September, but employers aren’t in the clear yet

Some movement is coming back to the labor market.

Despite a tepid jobs report in September, where employers added just 29,000 jobs, labor turnover for the month picked up that month. Employers reported a monthly increase in job openings, hires, and quits, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ JOLTS data released Tuesday.

While today’s data brings some optimism for the labor market, employers and job seekers alike are still a ways away before recovery—and better opportunities—materializes, experts tell HR Brew.

Diving into the data. Employers had 7.5 million job openings posted at the end of September, increasing by more than 333,000 from August, and up nearly half a million from September 2025. Nearly one-third of the increase in job openings came from non-education state and local government, which had around 519,000 openings at the end of September, a monthly growth of more than 104,000.

Total hires, however, saw a more moderate monthly increase compared to total quits. Employers reported making 5.4 million hires in September, up 131,000 from August, though the hiring rate rose little during that period, to 3.4%.

“Employers are opening positions, but if you also look, they’re not really rushing to fill them,” Julie Loucks, head of North America vertical strategy for ManPowerGroup, told HR Brew. “Companies are identifying talent needs while still remaining deliberate about how they hire and where they add that headcount.”

Despite hiring increasing modestly, the labor market saw a large jump in workers leaving their jobs. Within total separations, around 3.4 million workers reportedly quit in September, increasing by 321,000 month over month, and up by more than 375,000 year over year. The quit rate rose to 2.1%, its highest since June 2025.

One sharp monthly increase in quits isn’t enough data to determine a trend, especially with the potential of future revisions adjusting total quits downwards, Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor’s chief economist, told HR Brew. But the discrepancy between job availability and individuals leaving is notable, since workers are usually more willing to quit their jobs when there are better opportunities available.

“Hires are still sluggish, and so even if people are quitting now, I don’t think they are necessarily feeling great about quitting into the current job market,” he said. “It’s still going to take a little bit of improvement to feel like those quits are because workers are really much more confident about the current state of affairs.”

Additionally, the bulk of quits were concentrated in accommodation and food services, which rose by 197,000 from August to September, to 719,000 total. This sector also saw the largest monthly increase in hires during this period, rising 158,000 to 879,000 in September.

“When we see the rise in quits that may signal that there’s more confidence in employees,” Loucks said. While that may be the case for workers in accommodation and food services, it’s likely not the case for most other sectors where turnover wasn’t as stark. “I don’t think that that yet establishes really a broad return of worker confidence,” she added.

Layoffs and discharges fell to 1.6 million, decreasing by around 127,000 from August, its lowest levels since March 2025. Healthcare and social assistance saw the largest decline, falling by 70,000 month over month to 154,000 total in September.

Zoom out. Employers aren’t in the clear yet. September’s labor turnover spike follows a long period of sluggishness, where neither employers nor workers saw any movement. Given hiring didn’t increase in the same way that job openings or quits did that month, workers likely still feel frustration over a lack of opportunities available to them and anxiety over job security. That could hurt engagement in the short-term, and eventually retention, as workers’ frustrations with their employers simmer, according to our sources.

“In a healthier job market, those workers would just leave,” Zhao said, “but right now, instead, you have workers who are stuck in place and disengaged, which is not a good situation for either side.”

HR teams can tackle this proactively by offering employees career development opportunities including skill-building, AI literacy and other capabilities, and leadership training, Loucks said.

“As confidence returns to the labor market, organizations that have invested in career development…are likely to be in a much stronger position when it comes to talent,” she said.