Record 4.5 million Americans voluntarily quits job in November, says JOLTS report

• Financial

On Tuesday, US Commerce Department’s closely monitored monthly JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) report, a probing indicator to health of US labor market, had unveiled that the number of Americans voluntarily quitting their jobs had soared to a record 4.5 million later last year, illustrating a step-up in workers’ morale towards job availability alongside a likely sustenance in higher wages deeper into 2022.

On top of that, US Commerce Department’s JOLTS report had underlined an increase of 370,000 voluntary quits in November compared to a month earlier, while employees in healthcare and social assistance fields like of transportation, utilities and warehousing sector seemed to have led the tally amid an upsurge in rapidly spreading Omicron cases across the world’s No 1 economy.

Accommodation and food services industry, nevertheless, had borne the heaviest brunt. Besides, as all four regions of the United States had reported a sharp shoot-up in voluntary quits later last year, a study revealed late on Tuesday that Omicron infected patients currently accounted for a 95 per cent of all pandemic cases in the country.

US voluntary job quits hit record later last year

Besides, according to US Commerce Department’s JOLTS report, US job openings, a key gauge of labor demand, dipped 529,000 to a 10.6 million on November 30, 2021, though the readings had beaten an analysts’ estimate of 11.07 million vacancies.

Nonetheless, with new hiring staying almost unaltered at 6.7 million, large drops in Job Openings were witnessed across a swathe of industries ranging from accommodation and food services, nondurable goods and manufacturing alongside construction among others.