The great resignation is over: Americans have quit quitting and numbers voluntarily leaving jobs has dropped to pre-pandemic levels
- Number of people leaving their jobs has gone down to near pre-pandemic levels
- Job quitters hit their lowest level in over two years in April
- A slowdown in people quitting could mean job creation is finally starting to slow
Americans have quit quitting, as the number of people leaving their jobs has gone down to near pre-pandemic levels while the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and the labor market cooled down.
The so-called ‘great resignation’ was still at its peak as recently as last October, with the number of Americans who quit their jobs in September rose to a 30-year high.
Job quitters hit their lowest level in over two years in April, though the numbers rose slightly in May.
About four million Americans quit their jobs in May of 2023, about 2.5 percent of the employment market, down half a percent from just two months earlier and only slightly higher than the rate pre-pandemic.
The number of people quitting is a drop of 500,000 from a record 4.5 million in November 2021, topping all Labor Department records going back to the year 2000.
Americans have quit quitting, as the number of people leaving their jobs has gone down to near pre-pandemic levels as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates and the labor market cools down
Job openings have also begun to slope down in recent months
The numbers are characteristic of a labor market that’s easing but with employers still hiring at high levels, with 497,000 jobs added in the private sector in June alone.
Experts believe the Fed will need to raise rates again, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In the immediate fallout from the pandemic, more people felt comfortable exiting positions in recent months than almost ever before, while some businesses reevaluated positions.
A slowdown in people quitting could mean job creation is finally starting to slow and the labor market beginning to soften.
Job openings also dropped slightly from April to May, going from 10.3 million to 9.8 million, the Labor Department said.
Unemployment benefit applications rose last week and are overall up 20 percent from January, while the average number of hours being worked is down.
With jobs figures for June scheduled to come in Friday, many are wondering if the country will continue its 14-month streak of job creation came in above what Wall Street economists had expected.
The U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 3.7 percent in May, but remains near the low unemployment levels of the late 1960s. The rate hit a half century low of 3.4 per cent in April.
Job quitters hit their lowest level in over two years in April, though the numbers rose slightly in May
With jobs figures for June scheduled to come in Friday, many are wondering if the country will continue its 14-month streak of job creation came in above what Wall Street economists had expected
The data sketches an upbeat picture of the labor market ahead of the release of the closely watched employment report for June on Friday.
They also raised the prospects of the economy skirting the much dreaded downturn later this year.
‘Demand for new hires remains elevated and employers are still holding onto the workers they have,’ said Nick Bunker, research director at Indeed Hiring Lab. ‘The data continue to make a soft-landing scenario increasingly likely.’
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 248,000 for the week ended July 1, the Labor Department said.
Data for the prior week was revised to show 3,000 fewer applications than previously reported.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that manufacturing has had one of the worst bouts of resignations.
From before the pandemic to the end of 2021, the percentage of manufacturing employees who decided to leave jumped more than 60 percent.
Other industries experiencing similar issues include hospitality, healthcare, education, and retail.
