The most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of quits by U.S. workers has reached an all-time high since the data was first recorded in 2000.
In November 2021, there were 4,527,000 quits, up 370,000 from the previous month. Total separations, including quits, layoffs, discharges and other separations totaled 6.3 million. Layoffs, discharges and other separations remained roughly consistent from the previous month.
The industries with the largest increases included accommodation, food services, health care, social assistance, transportation, warehousing and utilities.
The number of quits had reached their lowest point in April of 2020, when 2,107,000 were recorded, less than half of the number for November 2021.
Before the pandemic, the number of quits was around 3.5 million, and rates didn’t return to that level until March of 2021.
According to the BLS, quits mainly increased in the Northeast, South and Midwest regions.
