Record Number of American Workers Quit Jobs in November

The tight labor market shows no sign of easing as the latest report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows 4.5 million Americans quit their job in November  - a record high. Most of that loss occurred in the hospitality sector (food and accommodation), health, and social assistance. But transportation, warehousing and utilities were also hard hit.

The news is of little comfort to manufacturers, which have been struggling to find qualified labor and attract new talent to the industry. According to Saar Yoskovitz, CEO of Augury, the companies they work with saw a 20-30 per cent workforce attrition rate in 2021 and they expect more of the same in the year ahead.

Large companies (with 1000-4,999 employees) and small companies (with less than 10 employees) had the highest “quit rate” while medium sized firms (10-49 employees) saw the biggest decrease in job openings, suggesting that their labor force was more balanced.

In the 12 months ending in November 2021, the American economy gained a total of 5.9 million jobs, numbers that may include workers who changed jobs more than once in the year.