Job Openings (JOLTS)

Total unfilled positions across the US economy from the BLS JOLTS survey, released with a ~6-week lag. The Fed watches the openings-to-unemployed ratio closely: above 1.5× signals wage pressure; the ratio peaked near 2× in 2022, underpinning the aggressive rate-hike cycle. Still one of the most policy-relevant labor data points.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed via ALFRED (Archival FRED). ALFRED archives each data point exactly as it was first published on release day — before any revision by the reporting agency. The figures shown here are what investors, traders, and policymakers were actually looking at when the data came out. Economic releases like payrolls, GDP, and inflation are often revised significantly in subsequent months; ALFRED lets you see the real-time picture.