Americans are Quitting Their Jobs in Record Numbers

Following what has been a robust tenure of consecutive monthly increases in job openings across the US, it appears that the number of employers seeking new hires has finally reached its peak, and began to wane in November. According to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey compiled by the BLS, job openings fell by a whopping 529K in November, marking the steepest decline since the beginning of the pandemic crisis in April 2020.

Despite the substantial drop, though, total job openings still sat at 10.56 million, which is short of the 1.11 million forecast by economists polled by Bloomberg. Moreover, to further illustrate that America’s labour market is far from a full recovery, there were a record 3.7 million more vacant positions than unemployed workers in November, meaning that there was less than one unemployed worker for every job opening in the country.

However, the most astonishing piece of data to come out of the latest JOLT survey was the unprecedented number of quits: a record 4.527 million Americans left their jobs in November, with one million of the departures stemming from the leisure and hospitality sectors alone. Likewise, the transportation and warehousing industry noted the second-highest number of resignations on record, while the healthcare sector also saw a substantial number of quits.

To make matters worse, a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases across the US over the past several weeks could further add strain on the labour market, affecting both the number of job openings and supply of workers if consumers cut back on activities such as travel and dining out.


Information for this briefing was found via the BLS. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.

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