Over the past year, the economy has taken a host of twists and turns, but one trend has remained constant: Everyone is quitting their jobs.
According to the latest data release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in April of 2022, there were over four million resignation letters written by Americans. There were more quits in April than in March. Job openings fell from 11.9 million in March to 11.4 million in April, which is still close to record highs.
When you have a higher level of openings, you also tend to have a higher level of quits because workers have more chances to find a better job.
Over 4 million Americans have thrown in the towel in the last 11 months. The country's new record-breaking quits rate was bested when it reached a series high in November 2021.
Layoffs and discharges reached a new record low in April. In April, 1.2 million people were laid off or discharged, a rate of 0.8% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nick Bunker, economic research director at Indeed, said that people still have a large amount of confidence, as they are quitting jobs, but there is also a large amount of security.
The new report doesn't completely reflect the current labor market. A series of recent high-profile layoffs have shaken the tech industry amidst concerns over a recession, but the labor market is still healthy according to today's report.
Bunker said that what's happening for a few tech firms isn't representative of what's happening for the whole labor market.
The data shows that most employers want to keep their workers and won't let them go. The workforce quit at the same time.
It could be a sign that employers are adapting to their new reality, that their workers can leave and there isn't much they can do about it. Aki Ito reported that employers may be looking at a forever resignation. According to a research firm, high turnover will probably stick around, with voluntary turnover rising more than the average pre-pandemic.
Raising wages, especially with inflation still roaring, is one measure that has reliably lured workers in. A study found that over half of Americans who quit in 2021 were making more money.
The last year has shown how much demand for workers there is and how much a hot labor market can empower workers.
Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter's chief economist, told Insider that one reason people may be quitting is because they are searching for remote work positions, a work model that has become particularly popular during the Pandemic.
Pollak said that people are moving from industries where remote work is not the norm because of the nature of the industry.
During the Great Resignation and labor shortage, employers can try to improve their benefits.
Raising wages and benefits is the first tool that employers can use, according to Zhao.
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