US workers are quitting their jobs at record rates, as the number of job openings across the country remains near record highs, new federal data shows.
Voluntary resignations jumped to 4.3 million in August, the highest on records dating back to December 2000, and up from 4 million in July, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday.
That's equivalent to nearly 3 percent of the workforce walking out on their jobs in a trend some have dubbed 'the Great Resignation'.
Hiring also slowed in August, the report showed, and the number of jobs available fell slightly to 10.4 million, from a record high of 11.1 million the previous month.
The number of jobs available fell slightly to 10.4 million in August, from a record high of 11.1 million the previous month
Job vacancy rates remain high in many industries including restaurants (pink) and transportation (orange) as employers
Resignations in August rose the most in increased in hotels and restaurants (+157,000), wholesale trade (+26,000), and public education (+25,000).
Yet in industries such as manufacturing, construction, and transportation and warehousing, quits barely increased.
In professional and business services, which includes fields such as law, engineering, and architecture, where most employees can work from home, quitting was largely flat.
The number and rate of layoffs and discharges were little changed from July, at 1.3 million and 0.9 percent, respectively.
The new data show that the number of open jobs in the country continues to exceed the number of people seeking work, increasing the bargaining power of workers and giving them more confidence to quit unpleasant jobs.
The data from August are probably too early to reflect the impact of President Joe Biden's vaccine mandates, which were not announced until September 9.
Workers at a Nebraska Burger King announced their mass resignation on a sign earlier this year. Workers are quitting their jobs at record rates
But millions have dropped out of the labor force since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, for reasons that include early retirement, seeking new training for a career change, and remaining at home as a caregiver.
Unemployment figures released on Friday showed that the labor force participation rate remained 1.7
