The events over the past two years have engendered life-changing impacts in so many people’s lives. Many folks found themselves having to make very real choices about where they’re living, how they’re spending money, and what they’re doing for a living.
Some people are taking up second jobs or turning to gig work in order to support themselves and their families. Others are struggling to remain afloat after having businesses or employment opportunities that were shuttered by the government-mandated lockdowns.
However, there’s another trend that’s really started to capture nationwide attention. According to Fox Business, there’s been an increase in millions of Americans altogether quitting their jobs.
A Closer Look at Mass Resignations Across the United States
Earlier this week, the Department of Labor announced that during November 2021, roughly 4.5 million people chose to leave their jobs.
This marks about 3% of the country’s workforce; moreover, it observes a massive increase from the resignations seen in previous months and even before COVID hit.
🛑 Stop the spending
🛑 Stop the inflation pic.twitter.com/az523C2QED— Stand For America (@StandForAmerica) January 4, 2022
As it turns out, American workers have very precise reasons for why they’ve choosing to walk away from various jobs. People want more income, more flexible hours, and better work environments.
The sectors to experience the most people quitting include utilities, housing, healthcare, food services, transportation, and social help. The mass resignations also began during a time when inflation was (and still to this day is) eroding Americans’ earnings.
What This New Shift Means for Employers
In 2021, employers across the United States were forced to contend with mass labor shortages and staffing shortages.
Even in 2022, these shortages are persisting, notably in the airline sector where flights are being delayed and cancelled, due to employees calling off the job, reportedly sick with COVID.
With all of these people quitting their jobs, employers have had to get creative in order to get more hands on deck. For many business owners, this means increasing wages and benefits as incentives to get new hires on the beat.
Devastating numbers for Biden per a new CNBC poll:
– 72% disapprove of his handling "of the price of everyday goods" (inflation)
-60% disapproval on the economy
-55% disapproval on COVID (he was once in the 60s in *approval* in the same poll)https://t.co/4urmeo0Sk4— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) January 4, 2022
Workers across the country are increasingly less interested in what’s been long viewed as traditional employment.
This explains the rise in people seeking out gig work, whether that’s freelancing, driving for rideshare companies, or delivering for companies like DoorDash, Instacart, UberEats, etc.
Some businesses, such as BurgerFi, have even started turning to automation as a means of offsetting labor shortages without losing heaps of money. It’s largely believed that more companies will embrace automation to remain afloat and profitable in the years to come.
What do you make of the news that millions of Americans across the nation are deciding to altogether quit their jobs? Will this lead to the rise of more artificial intelligence? Let us know what you see happening in the comments section.
