The Great Resignation Statistics

The Great Resignation, also known as the Great Reshuffle, Great Attrition, or Big Quit continues strong in 2022.

This pandemic-era labor force trend has created a nearly unprecedented churn in the U.S. labor market.

Almost half of the nation's employees are "job seekers".

So, how big is this Great Resignation? And how did we get to this point?

In this statistical roundup, you’ll discover the latest Great Resignation data by the numbers and key demographics, here’s a summary of what you’ll learn:

Great Resignation Statistics (Top Picks)

  • 48 million people quit their jobs in 2021
  • 8.6 million people quit their jobs in 2022 (Jan-Feb)
  • 4.26 million people quit their jobs in January 2022
  • 4.35 million people quit their jobs in February 2022
  • 34% of the U.S. workforce is engaged at work.
  • 94% of American Retailers are experiencing issues with managing job vacancies. 
  • 55% of workers in America are planning on looking for new jobs.
  • Roughly 52% of Millennial and Generation Z workers were likely to consider changing companies this year
  • Gen Z-ers are the group that feels the least appreciated and underpaid.
  • 41% of the global workforce is considering quitting their jobs.
  • 46% of the world’s workforce plans on relocation this year. 

Great Resignation: by the numbers

A total of 48 million people quit their jobs in 2021. In the last half of 2021, 25.6 million people "quit" their jobs--quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by an employee. As of March 2022, 8.6 million people quit their jobs this year.

Great Resignation Statistics - 48 million people quit their jobs in 2021

How many people quit their jobs last month?

4.35 million people quit their jobs last month (February 2022)

Job Quits

  • July 2021: 4,028,000
  • August 2021: 4,270,000
  • September 2021: 4,362,000
  • October 2021: 4,157,000
  • November 2021: 4,500,000
  • December 2021: 4,300,000
  • January 2022: 4,032,000
  • February 2022: 4,352,000 (preliminary)

Top Industries Experiencing the Most Resignations in 2022

Which industries are most affected by the Great Resignation? Find the answer below.

By Numbers
  • Trade, transportation, and utilities: 2,052,000
  • Leisure and hospitality: 1,716,000
  • Accommodation and food services: 1,577,000
  • Retail trade: 1,468,000
  • Professional and business services: 1,415,000
By Percentage
  • Accommodation and food services: 6%
  • Leisure and hospitality: 5.6%
  • Retail trade: 4.7%
  • Trade, transportation, and utilities: 3.6%
  • Professional and business services: 3.2%

Sources: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for November 2021, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, LinkedIn, GoBankingRates, CNBC, BLS.gov

Regions With the Highest Job Resignations in 2022

For the first two months of 2022, southern states have seen the highest quit rates and amount of quits.

RegionTotalsAverage Quit Rates
Northeast1,174,0002.20%
South3,500,0003.10%
Midwest1,858,0002.85%
West2,078,003%
Source: BLS.gov

States With the Highest Job Resignation Rates in 2022

Employees are leaving jobs in waves. Here are the states with the highest job resignation rates.

Source: WalletHub
Rank StateResignation Rate (Latest Month) Resignation Rate (Last 12 Months) 
1Alaska3.50%3.98%
2South Carolina3.80%3.28%
3Georgia3.60%3.66%
4Delaware3.80%3.13%
5Kentucky3.50%3.43%
6Mississippi3.50%3.39%
7West Virginia3.50%3.26%
8Arizona3.50%3.21%
9Tennessee3.50%3.13%
10Hawaii3.20%3.41%
11Montana3.20%3.33%
12Nevada3.00%3.74%
13Oklahoma3.30%3.07%
14Alabama3.30%3.06%
15Indiana3.20%3.20%
16Louisiana3.10%3.25%
17Michigan3.10%3.08%
18Wyoming3.00%3.28%
19Texas3.10%2.98%
20Idaho2.90%3.28%
21North Carolina2.90%3.24%
22Colorado2.90%3.19%
23Utah3.00%2.90%
24Arkansas2.90%3.10%
25North Dakota2.90%3.09%
26Virginia3.00%2.78%
27Nebraska3.00%2.73%
28Florida2.70%3.01%
29New Mexico2.70%2.92%
30Maryland2.90%2.42%
31Oregon2.60%3.02%
32Missouri2.60%2.92%
33Ohio2.70%2.68%
34South Dakota2.70%2.63%
35New Hampshire2.50%2.76%
36Vermont2.50%2.73%
37Maine2.50%2.68%
38Rhode Island2.50%2.62%
39Iowa2.50%2.61%
40Kansas2.50%2.60%
41Illinois2.40%2.79%
42Wisconsin2.40%2.73%
43California2.50%2.42%
44New Jersey2.50%2.40%
44Washington2.50%2.40%
46District of Columbia2.60%1.98%
47Pennsylvania2.30%2.22%
48Massachusetts2.20%2.27%
49Connecticut2.20%2.17%
50Minnesota2.10%2.37%
51New York1.80%1.87%

Source: WalletHub

Why Are So Many People Quitting Their Jobs?

Why is there a labor shortage? Research suggests performance measurements, well-being, and management may all be factors for people quitting their jobs during the Great Resignation.

9 Factors Causing the Great Resignation

  1. Toxic corporate culture
  2. Job insecurity and reorganization
  3. High levels of innovation
  4. Failure to recognize performance
  5. Poor response to COVID-19
  6. Better work-life balance
  7. Higher-pay
  8. A long-held desire to explore a new career path
  9. To care for children or elderly relatives during the pandemic

Sources: Sloan Review, MIT, The Adecco Group, The Motley Fool, CNN

Who Is Quitting? Great Resignation Demographics

Quits by Gender

While we couldn't find a lot of data on quits by gender, HR & payroll platform Gusto has provided insight into their data from February 2020 to February 2022. Here is what we were able to find:

August 2021

  • Women - 5.5%
  • Men - 4.4%

January 2022

  • Women - 4.09%
  • Men - 3.36%

Quits by men and women both hit their highest points in August 2021. The trend continues upward for both genders month-over-month and year-over-year.

Great Resignation by Gender
Further Insight Into Great Resignation Demographics

A Pew Research Center survey found that "Younger adults and those with lower incomes were more likely to quit a job in 2021."

According to The Motley Fool, Millennials with more than five years of work experience make up 55% of career-changers since March 2020, while they comprise just 35% of the labor force.

"Workers who left their positions were also likely to have substantial job experience, with 77% of those who moved into new positions having at least five years of work experience," the article stated.

High-earners were more likely to switch careers than low-earners.

Sources: Pew Research Center, The Motley Fool

Further Sources & Resources: GallupKorn Ferry, Bankrate, Bankrate, Ergonomic Trends, Fast Company, Forbes, Fortune, IBM, Kayo, LinkedIn, Microsoft Word Trend Index, Owl Labs, PWC, Prudential, SHRM

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