Workers Quitting Jobs Is Highest in Three Years
In another sign that the labor market is slowly recovering, the number of workers quitting their jobs is rising (see chart above). In February, almost 2.1 million Americans quit their jobs, and it was the sixth month out of the last eight months that more than 2 million workers voluntarily left their job. The February count was the highest number of monthly quits since November 2008, more than three years ago.
From a related Wall Street Journal article:
"Strategists at ConvergEx Group pointed out in a note to clients that quits are a measure of economic confidence — people don’t tend to quit their jobs in tough labor markets because they’re worried they won’t be able to find a new one. During the downturn, monthly quits plunged to a record low of 1.6 million in September 2009, down from more than three million per month before the recession began. The fact that they’re rising again suggests that workers may finally be seeing signs that the job market is improving.
Quits matter for another reason, too: They’re a component of “churn,” the regular comings and goings that are a critical element of any healthy job market. When people leave jobs in search of higher pay and new opportunities, they open up opportunities for others. When they stop quitting, those opportunities dry up."
HT: Steve Bartin
From a related Wall Street Journal article:
"Strategists at ConvergEx Group pointed out in a note to clients that quits are a measure of economic confidence — people don’t tend to quit their jobs in tough labor markets because they’re worried they won’t be able to find a new one. During the downturn, monthly quits plunged to a record low of 1.6 million in September 2009, down from more than three million per month before the recession began. The fact that they’re rising again suggests that workers may finally be seeing signs that the job market is improving.
Quits matter for another reason, too: They’re a component of “churn,” the regular comings and goings that are a critical element of any healthy job market. When people leave jobs in search of higher pay and new opportunities, they open up opportunities for others. When they stop quitting, those opportunities dry up."
HT: Steve Bartin
21 Comments:
i'm not sure this can be read that way.
might it be affected by the big jumps in temporary employment? does that count as "quits"?
new unemployment claims were up to the highest level since jan this week as well.
was that a sign of a recovering jobs market?
What sector of the economy had the lowest "shove it" percentage by their workers?
Government(fed, state & local)at 1.4% from the BLS report. Hmmm.
How many of these quitters had already lined up another job before quitting their old one?
Can you imagine how pessimistic this economy would be without Dr Perry's optimism? :)
Optimism, or "animal spirits," can in itself boost economic growth.
When people leave jobs in search of higher pay and new opportunities, they open up opportunities for others.
==============================
Huh?
One opportunity taken, one opportunity freed up. Net gain in new opportunity as a result of the move: zero.
This seems to imply that if someone leaves a job and moves up, then it leaves the lower level job open for someone else (presumably less skilled or experienced) to take.
Isn't it nearly as likely that someone from the outside, with a high experience level will snag the "move up" job?
Churn may be good for a healthy job market, but it results in friction which is bad for the companies involved. Most companies try to keep uselss churn low.
hydra, yes when you quit your job to go somewhere else, in my case i want to move up, someone is going to replace that job you left. Not laid off. This is not in any way directly showing "created Jobs". so your -1 + 1=0 need not be mentioned. This is merely showing the thought that people now feel they have a chance to improve their job by seeking another position. Take this with a grain of salt
and to add to your churn makes friction, yes its the beauty of capitalism. That "churn" is what generates competitive pay and benefits, ya know, so that a company can keep that position filled. You would be insinuating that once your hired, you should keep that job until you retire. That's a scary thought, you must have yourself in a comfortable position. I'm not comfortable with my pay, I will be quitting my job for higher compensation as soon as possible.
Sarah Palin quit her job when nobody else was.
Always ahead of the curve.
"Sarah Palin quit her job when nobody else was"...
Well dependable as sunrise, another insufferably dumb comment from the pseudo benny...
Churn is good for opening up opportunities. In the past, I have seen guys left for higher paying jobs, after management's hands were tied on raises and HR. Two months later, you would see the same guys come back for even more money as a "contractor" to get around pay scale.
If a company is losing more profit without an employee, they will open the wallets to bring back their old employee or hire somebody else.
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"Well dependable as sunrise, another insufferably dumb comment from the pseudo benny..."
LOL yes, the only question is: What took him so long?
There can never be a recovery of jobs if Obama and his regime is in the White House.
This story is a lie by the liberal media, I'm going to wait and see what Fox News has to say.
When you get to the top few percent as soon as possible gets farther and farther apart.
I'm going to wait and see if what fox news has to say turns out to be correct.
If churn creates competitive pay, why are you planning on leaving? Sounds like it only generates competitive pay for the Guy behind you after you leave.
If everybody quits, pay should rise substantially.
Strike.
Strike.
Strike.
"If everybody quits, pay should rise substantially.
Strike.
Strike.
Strike."
WOW. I wont waste my time
The labor market needs all the help that it can get. If job turnover is increasing that is a vey positive sign for labor markets
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