Number of Georgia workers quitting their jobs reached a new high in November, 2021
The number of Georgians quitting their jobs in November rose
significantly, while the number of job openings fell, indicating that workers
are feeling more confident about their financial futures than employers are
feeling about future business conditions.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released information for
November 2021 indicating that the number of job openings in the state fell by 33,000
positions or 0.6 percentage points, while job openings nationwide fell 0.4
points.
Employers posting job openings can be interpreted as
companies’ optimism about future economic conditions, as employers will add
workers when they expect sustained business activity.
Georgia workers leaving their jobs in large numbers
Total separations, which includes retirements, firings,
layoffs, and voluntary quits, rose by 57,000 in Georgia or 1.2 points.
Nationally, separations rose 0.2 points.
More than 90 percent of those separations occurred as the result
of voluntary quits by workers. In Georgia, 53,000 quits were recorded in
November an increase of 1.2 percentage points from October. For the nation, the
number of quits rose by 0.2 percent.
The rate of workers quitting in Georgia remained far higher
than for the nation as a whole, with 4.5 percent of the workforce quitting in
the state compared to 3.0 percent nationwide in November.
Interpreting the data
Economists interpret the choice of workers to voluntarily
leave their jobs as an indicator of people’s confidence in their economic
future.
Worker turnover can mean large headaches for employers, as
it adds to training costs and higher wages to retain staff.
Increased economic confidence by workers can also be an
indicator of increased consumer spending, as workers more confident about their
future also tend to increased their expenditures.
For employers, lower number of job openings can mean that
employers are responding to workers quitting by filling fewer vacancies or by
using other means, such as more automation, to meet business needs in lieu of hiring
more staff.
