Millions of Employees Quit Their Jobs in November

Employees left their jobs in record numbers in November based on the information provided by the Labor Department. The so-called quits level jumped to 4.53 million for the month, according to the department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. More people quit their jobs in November than in October. Moreover, in the first month of autumn 4.36 million workers quit their jobs.

The Great Resignation is an interesting phenomenon. Employees have been leaving their positions partly in response to increased mobility in the labor market as job openings strongly outnumber those looking for work. 

For the last month of autumn, the number of job openings totalled 10.56 million, lower than the 11 million estimates from Factset and a decline from 11.09 million in October. The level, nonetheless, was well ahead of the 6.88 million total of those out of work and looking for jobs. 

The job openings rate declined to 6.6% from about 7% in October. Still, the job openings rate remained well ahead of the 4.5% from the prior year.

Employees and various industries

Data released by the Labor Department contains interesting details about employees and the labor market as a whole. 

The JOLTS report showed, though, that there are certain displacements happening in the labor market. 

At the industry level, the job openings rate in leisure and hospitality fell to 8.7% from 10.1%, due to a drop in accommodation and food services to 8.9% from 10.5% The hire rate in leisure and hospitality rose to 8.1%, nonetheless, the quits rate jumped a full percentage point to 6.4%. 

The healthcare and social assistance industry experienced problems due to the pandemic. The quits rate in the healthcare and social assistance industry reached 3% in November, the highest on record. 

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