BLS Report – 4.3 Million US Workers Voluntarily Quit Their Jobs in August

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the job openings and labor report for August today [DATA HERE].  The data shows that 4.3 million U.S. workers voluntarily quit their jobs in the month of August.  This is a significant jump from prior.

The “Quits” section [Table 4 breakdown] shows quits increased in August to 4.3 million (+242,000). The quits rate increased to a series high of 2.9 percent. Quits increased in accommodation and food services (+157,000); wholesale trade (+26,000); and state and local government education (+25,000). Quits decreased in real estate and rental and leasing (-23,000). The number of quits increased in the South and Midwest regions:

While this data is interesting and significant, it is only one data point within the larger U.S. main street economy.  Rather than me extrapolating on this data, I would like to hear your perspective based on your own local feeling about what is going on in your area.

Key points of reference would include:

• While this is potentially related to vaccine mandates, the time frame in August is before the Biden mandatory vaccination requirement made on September 9th.
• Housing prices overall (macro level) were/are high.  There is a lot more home equity amid working class families who own homes.  This could translate to a greater ability to change jobs or cash out for  a longer financial plan.
• Workers in the real estate and leasing segment did not quit.
• The highest quit rates were in the regions with the lowest cost of living.
• Inflation is massive

I am interested to read your opinions on what could potentially be the largest contributing factor based on your town, city or neighborhood.

Ignore the financial pundits.  The question is: what do you make of this?

Jennifer Psaki was asked about this quit jump and she was poorly briefed in order to answer the question.  She is clueless.