Labor Crisis: Record Number Of Workers Quit Jobs in September as Labor Shortage Worsens

A record 4.4 million people quit their jobs in September, and job openings remained near a record high as labor shortages continue throughout the country.

Roughly 3.0% of U.S. workers left their jobs in September, a jump from August, when 4.3 million people left the workforce, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report released Friday. The number of job openings remained near its August level of 10.4 million.

Experts believe the record-setting job departures resulted partially from workers wanting more desirable jobs with better pay, more convenient hours and improved benefits and working conditions, according to The Washington Post.  Delta variant cases surged in September, causing some to hesitate to return to in-person work.

“The vast majority of the quitting we’ve seen in 2021 has been job switching,” Nick Bunker, an economist at Indeed, told The Wall Street Journal. “Industries that usually hire people out of work may have shifted their approach toward poaching.”

The U.S. economy recorded an increase of 531,000 jobs in October, and unemployment fell by 0.2%, BLS announced on Nov. 5.

Additionally, inflation surged to its highest level in 30 years Wednesday, with the Consumer Price Index increasing 0.9% in October, bringing the key inflation indicator’s year-over-year increase to 6.2%.