By Reade Pickert and Alex Tanzi | Bloomberg
In more than half of U.S. states, the Great Resignation is gaining pace.
The quits rate, or the number of people leaving jobs in the month as a share of total employment, increased in 29 states in September, the Labor Department’s State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed Friday.
The quits rate allows for comparison between states of differing sizes. The largest increases were seen in Hawaii, Montana and Nevada. Those states also had the highest quits rates at 7.1%, 4.8% and 4.5% respectively. In total, 34 states had quits rates higher than the national rate of 3%.
Desperate businesses have boosted pay at a record pace and offered a host of other perks like flexible hours and cash bonuses to attract and retain workers. However, those perks paired with a tight labor market have fueled even more churn. Nationally, an unprecedented 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in September.
Quits levels increased in 30 states and the District of Columbia, led by Texas and California.
A separate report out Friday showed payrolls increased in almost all U.S. states in October. Nebraska had the lowest unemployment rate in October, at 1.9%. Louisiana, Alaska, Michigan and the District of Columbia saw the largest job increases on a percentage basis from the prior month.
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