A record number of Americans left their jobs in November in pursuit of better opportunities, thus furthering the great resignation crisis.
According to the Labor Department data released Tuesday, over 4.5 million people resigned in November alone.
Record-breaking numbers of Americans left their jobs
November’s 4.5 million resignations broke previous records of October when nearly 4.2 million people resigned. During the last two decades, these were the largest number of resignations in a single month.
Reportedly, this wave of resignations, coupled with the difficulties of employers with filling new job openings, is worsening the crisis faced by the American economy.
Hospitality and other low-wage sectors are the worst impacted, as people want to move to more stable and high-end jobs. On the last day of November, almost 10.6 million job openings were present, down from 11.1 million in October.
However, those numbers were more than any month before the start of the pandemic. Currently, over seven million Americans are looking for work, despite having many job openings, and are reluctant to take low-paid jobs.
Record 4.5 million ‘Great Resignation’ workers quit their jobs in November https://t.co/Ef1TgWoLp6
— The Independent (@Independent) January 4, 2022
Daniel Zhao, an economist of the famous employer reviews company Glassdoor, noted despite the country facing a great resignation crisis, many employers still have high demands, which is increasing competition among them to hire skilled workers.
The increase in workers’ demands resulted in higher wages, as the hourly wages for job switchers increased by 4.3 percent in November, compared to 3.2 percent for those who are already in jobs, per the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
After the release of Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) data, the Labor Department will release December data on earnings, employment, and unemployment on Friday, which economists are waiting for to forecast job growth this year.
However, economists, including Zhao, claimed the latest data did not incorporate the devastation caused by the outbreak of omicron.
The director of economic research at the Indeed Hiring Lab, Nick Bunker, indicated the primary reason for the great resignation is the reopening of the economy; this is allowing low-wage workers to seize better job opportunities.
Pay increase does not resonate with inflation hike
Meanwhile, despite the fact wages have been rising at a record level, the increase in inflation has been even higher; this is encouraging people to complain about their low pay increases.
According to the New York Times polls, which surveyed 5,365 people last month, only 17 percent reported their pay increase matched the rising inflation rate.
Other than that, some of the people surveyed did not receive a pay raise, or their raise did not match up with inflation. Eight percent of participants reported a pay cut.
What is 'The Great Resignation'? An expert explains https://t.co/cv7Dq2Eop8 pic.twitter.com/3smRCLuZed
— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 2, 2022
As per the same survey, six out of ten Americans portrayed an extreme sense of concern regarding inflation in America, while nine out of ten reported they are “somewhat concerned” about it.
