Period of Great Resignation; More Americans quit jobs

Job openings in the United States reached record levels at the beginning of last month. On Wednesday, the Labor Department said that many people quitting jobs reduced its record pace but remained high.

The developments provided more proof of a labor market that managed to shift in favor of employees.

Employers posted around 11 million job vacancies, which seems up from 10.7 million in November and below July’s record high. Job openings topped 10 million for four straight months.

The number of quits decreased from 4.5 million to 4.3 million, which means that around 2.9% of workers willingly left their jobs, hoping to take another position. Before the current pandemic, quits were at about 3.6 million.

In October, there were 7.5 million unemployed Americans that means there was more than one available job position for each jobless person. It was a historical record dating back two decades.

The number of hires fell to 6.5 million, emphasizing that employers still struggle to fill a remarkable number of vacancies. 

Statistics

Job openings in the various sector rose by:

• 252,000 to 1.9 million in leisure and hospitality, mostly in hotels and restaurants. 
• 62,000 to 1 million in manufacturing; 
• 57,000 to 410,000 in construction; 
• 58,000 to 2 million in education and health services; 
• 36,000 to 1.8 million in professional and business services.

Openings fell by:

• 74,000 to 915,000 in government; 
• 25,000 to 2 million in trade, transportation, and utilities; 
• 19,000 to 1 million in retail.

Overall, the Labor Turnover Survey and Job Openings emphasize that workers hold cards in this job market.

Working remotely

According to the survey conducted by ZipRecruiter, in September, 55% of employees said they preferred a job from home. Julia Pollak, Chief Economist at ZipRecruiter, noted that only roughly 10% of jobs offer work from home options.