A record 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in September
A Record 4.4 Million Americans Quit Their Jobs In September
The quit rate, or the number of quit in the month as a percentage of total employment, increased to 3%, a record since 2000
An unprecedented number of Americans quit their jobs in September, highlighting how persistent abandonment is undermining employers’ efforts to fill a near-record level of job openings.
A record 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in September, the Labor Department’s Survey of Vacancies and Job Rotation, or Jolts, showed on Friday. Meanwhile, the number of available positions was reduced to 10.4 million.
Spurred by record wage gains and other attractive conditions offered by employers desperate for talent, Americans are leaving their jobs in droves. That made it even more challenging for employers to fill positions while increasing compensation and inflation.
The quit rate, or the number of quit in the month as a percentage of total employment, rose to 3% in September, also a record in data since 2000.
Dropouts increased in various industries, especially arts, entertainment, and recreation, as well as other state and local government education and services. The number of people who quit their jobs in the leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors rose to record levels.
Total hires changed little in September with 6.5 million, driven by the strength of health and social assistance. The hiring rate was unchanged at 4.4%. Layoffs and layoffs changed little to 1.4 million.
A separate report released on Friday showed that US consumer confidence fell to a decade-low in early November, reflecting mounting fears of the impact of inflation on its finances.
Hiring challenges
The latest jobs report, which showed employers had some success filling vacancies as the delta variant faded away, also highlighted a stubbornly low participation rate, indicating that hiring challenges won’t go away anytime soon.
Recent survey data suggests the same. A quarter of American workers are considering changing jobs or retiring in the next 12 to 18 months, pointing to increased turnover in the job market.
Still, there are some incipient signs of improvement. About 49% of small business owners said they had vacant positions they couldn’t fill in October, still historically high, but slightly below an all-time high of 51% in the previous month, according to data from the National Federation of Independents. . Business.
The survey also showed that a record proportion of homeowners not only collected compensation, but they also plan to do so in the coming months.
For every American unemployed in September, there were 1.4 job openings. While job mismatches persist, workers remain optimistic about their future earnings and job prospects. In the October Conference Board poll, the proportion of those who said jobs were “plentiful” stood near a record.
The Jolts figures follow the government’s monthly employment data. The October employment report, released last week, showed payroll up 531,000 from the previous month after big upward revisions to the August and September data. The advance, which exceeded economists’ forecasts, was the largest since July.
