Record Number of Americans Quit Their Jobs In August

Video Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories
Published on October 12, 2021 - Duration: 01:30s

Record Number of Americans Quit Their Jobs In August

Record Number of Americans, Quit Their Jobs In August.

A new report released on October 12 shows that huge numbers of American workers are quitting their jobs.

According to the Labor Department the number of quits jumped to 4.3 million in August.

That is the highest number of quits since December of 2000, and up from 4 million in July.

ABC reports that is equal to almost 3% of the United States' workforce.

The report showed that hiring slowed and the number of jobs available dropped to 10.4 million, after hitting a record high of 11.1 million in July.

In the past year, open jobs have increased 62%.

Despite this, the report shows that overall hiring has actually declined slightly during that time.

ABC suggests that fear of COVID-19 is likely to have caused many who are out of work to quit, not look for or take jobs.

In August, as COVID-19 cases surged, quits rose sharply in public-facing jobs from July.

In August, almost 900,000 people quit jobs at restaurants, bars and hotels, up 21% from July.

In the retail industry, the number of quits rose 6%.

Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said the data is, โ€œhighlighting the immense problems businesses are dealing with.".

Not enough people.

Not enough equipment and/or parts.

Meantime, customers are waiting for their orders, or waiting to place their orders.

What a strange world this is, Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, via ABC


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