What happened more than 4.3 million times in just the month of August, and is a key reason why companies who produce “Help Wanted” signs are thriving?
American’s quit their jobs. Yes, a record 4.3 million workers said “take this job and shove it.”
It coincides with a huge drop in number of jobs being available throughout the US. Hiring fell too, from 11.1 million in July to 10.4 million in August.
There’s several reasons for this, at or near the top according to some is the delta variant. As cases of COVID rose in August, big numbers of workers in the restaurant, hotel, retail and other service industries walked away from their job.
Now for some optimistic news. When workers quit their jobs, it can be a good sign for the job market because usually employees quit when they have something else lined up. So part of the record number of people quitting is because they can take other positions where they are paid more as desperate employers try to fill positions.
The reason COVID can be targeted as a significant reason for the large number ob people quitting is because of the industries that were affected most. People in close contact with the public.
Here’s some specific numbers of how many people are quitting, courtesy of Morning Brew.
706,000. Professional health services.
721,000 Retail.
892,000 Restaurants, bars, hotels.
As for September job numbers. The early returns are showing that it’s not looking great. Hiring is down again for the fourth straight month, but the unemployment rate fell from 4.8% to 5.2%.
Add comment