U.S. Monthly Job Openings 2000 through September 2021(thousands) Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
The record level of job openings contributed to the “labor shortage.” The number was more than twice the level of job openings that occurred in any year between 2000 and 2014, and approximately 40% greater than the peak of job openings that occurred during 2018 before the pandemic. The Quit Rate Record levels of job openings? “Hold my beer” replies the 2021 quit rate. The graph below shows the quit rate for the United States since the turn of the century through September 2021. The quit rate is the number of people quitting jobs during the entire month as a percent of total employment. That rate reached a record high 3.0% in September 2021. For seven consecutive months, from March 2021 through September 2021, the quit rate was higher than any month this century prior to March 2021. More Americans had it with their job and called it quits in 2021 than at any other time. There were likely a myriad of factors contributing to the high quit rate, including: • Job Openings. The record number of job openings meant that employees could quit and reassess their job, career, and work environment and likely find a job when they decided to return to work. • Wages. Want a raise? Average hourly earnings have increased by 4.9 percent for the 12-month period ending October 31, 2021. Although wages have generally increased, in some cases getting a raise was easier by quitting than staying in the same job. In some occupations, new hires could get paid more than employees with more experience. • COVID resurgence. The summer resurgence of COVID meant some workers faced an increased risk of contracting the virus if they remained in their current job, either from customers or coworkers. • Job stress or work conditions. Certainly, many workers experience job stress, but arguably health care workers led the way in dealing with significantly more of it since the onslaught of COVID. • Unruly customer behavior. Unfortunately, not all jobs and occupations receive the respect they deserve. From retail, to healthcare, to education, job incidents increased. Airlines provide an unfortunate example. Through early November, the Federal Aviation Administration indicated that the number of investigations initiated regarding unruly passenger behavior was more than twice the level of any previous year.
Central Wisconsin Report - Fall 2021
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