Remnants of the Great Resignation Still Challenge the Fed
The “quits rate” may have been the key to understanding the link between the labor market and inflation in 2021. Now it’s inching back up.
The latest data suggests that a reversion to normal job-to-job mobility may take a bit longer than expected.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
The cognoscenti may have been too quick to declare the end of the Great Resignation.
The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data on Thursday showed that the number of workers voluntarily leaving their jobs surged in May by the most since November 2021. On a day of strong labor reports, it might be the most consequential for the fight against inflation. The BLS’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that quits rose by 250,000 to 4 million, about 2.6% of the labor force. Although that’s well below the 3% peak in 2021, it’s comfortably above the highest value recorded before the pandemic.