Record-High Quits are Being Driven by “Too Much Stress”

A record 4.5 million people quit their jobs in November, according to the nationwide JOLTS report. Now, with the latest State JOLTS report released this morning, we know which states are responsible for the spike in resignations.

1. Georgia leads the nation in quits.

• In November, Georgia, New Hampshire, and Vermont recorded the highest quits rates in the country, one and a half times higher than the national average. High numbers of job openings relative to the size of the workforce in those states are providing people with opportunities to find roles that are a better fit.
• According to ZipRecruiter's nationally representative survey of 1,500 job seekers, the top three reasons people cite for quitting their jobs are: too much stress (46%), too little pay (34%), and bad relationships with managers and coworkers (22%).

2. Labor shortages are severe in Nebraska, Utah, New Hampshire, and Vermont, but less acute on the East Coast.

• There were far more job openings than unemployed people in the U.S. in November, particularly in Nebraska (4 openings per unemployed person), Utah (3.4), New Hampshire (2.8), and Vermont (2.8). That imbalance has given job seekers substantial leverage.
• However, not every state is a job seekers' market. On the East Coast, several states have high unemployment levels and relatively few job openings. Job seekers in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are still facing tougher odds.
• Three East Coast states rank at the bottom when it comes to quits rates, job openings rates, and ratios of unemployed people per job opening. Their low quits rates partly reflect the fact that their highly educated populations tend to work in lower-turnover occupations, but they also reflect a relative scarcity of outside opportunities.
• Employed job seekers located in New York, the state with the lowest quits rate, are more likely to cite inconvenient location as a top reason for resigning, followed by too much stress, and insufficient pay.

3. In November, Alaska, Hawaii, and New Hampshire recorded the highest job openings rates.

• Alaska has the highest job openings rate (8.8%), followed by Hawaii (8.3%) and New Hampshire (7.9%.) These rates are about 2 percentage points higher than the national average of 6.6%.
• In all three states, there is intense demand for healthcare, transportation, and food service workers. In those states, sales professionals, nurses, medical specialists, trucker drivers, and restaurant workers take the 5 occupations that in highest demand, according to the ZipRecruiter's online job postings data.