The Great Resignation

When the number of Americans quitting their job surged to more than four million in a single month for the first time in April 2021, the “Great Resignation” became the labor market trend that everybody was talking about. Whether it was in search of better pay, better working conditions or better career opportunities, with job openings at record highs workers felt empowered to look for greener pastures elsewhere. While vaccine mandates were also thought to have played a significant role in the mass resignations, available evidence and the trend’s longevity suggest that vaccine requirements actually played a smaller that initially feared.

As 2021 drew to a close, a record number of almost 48 million Americans had quit their job, up from the previous record of 42 million resignations in 2019, in which was already considered a historically tight labor market at the time. And while the “Great Resignation” is making fewer headlines these days, the trend turned out to be much more than a fad. In fact, the number of monthly resignations hasn’t dipped below four million since May 2021, and it’s more than likely that the upcoming December JOLTS report will show that more than 50 million Americans have quit in 2022.

Our latest Racing Bars video shows how the “Great Resignation” unfolded and which industries have been most affected by the trend.