Worker Retention

Economy & Inflation
Written By Alysha Rashid

Across industries, workers are quitting jobs at high rates. In total, 26 million workers quit jobs between December 2021 and May 2022.

Quits rate by industry

Dec 2000 - May 2022

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Notes: The quits rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a percent of total employment. Quits include employees who left voluntarily except retirements or transfers to other locations. Data is seasonally adjusted. May 2022 data is preliminary.

Since December 2021, 26 million workers have quit their jobs. The job quits rate was highest in leisure and hospitality (5.5% in May) and in retail (4.0% in May) where wages are low and working conditions are poor. 1 million parents of young children quit jobs in June due to lack of child care (Child Care Disruptions). An estimated 1.6 million workers are sidelined each month because of Long Covid symptoms.1 3 of the 5 states with the highest share of adults suffering from Long Covid are Southern states (Long Covid).

With fewer people in the labor market, workers are increasingly demanding higher wages and better working conditions.2 A groundswell of grassroots activism has led to increased worker organizing across Starbucks stores and Amazon warehouses.3,4,5,6 Increased union organizing efforts have been observed across Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina despite long-standing anti-union sentiments across the South.7,8,9

  1. “Is ‘long Covid’ worsening the labor shortage?” Bach. Brookings. January, 2022. https://www.brookings.edu/research/is-long-covid-worsening-the-labor-shortage/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_medium=email&utm_content=200588850&utm_source=hs_email

  2. “Hunt for Cheap Labor Gets More Expensive for Corporate America”. Gupta. Bloomberg. January, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-07/hunt-for-cheap-labor-gets-more-expensive-for-corporate-america 

  3. “How Two Best Friends Beath Amazon”. Kantor, Weise. The New York Times. April, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/02/business/amazon-union-christian-smalls.html?fbclid=IwAR11xPvDmq8rdQjMrgEzqGvjifks-ayrBCoBQ_RU_eFS1gX2D_TsCkUVS4s

  4. “Union files objections to Amazon’s actions in Bessemer, AL election”. Clark. The Verge. April, 2022. https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/7/23015822/union-objections-amazon-bessemer-alabama-election-redo 

  5. “How a bunch of Starbucks baristas built a labor movement”. Molla. Vox. April, 2022. https://www.vox.com/recode/22993509/starbucks-successful-union-drive 

  6. “Why Worker Organizing Is So Essential To The Food Industry”. Schweizer. Forbes. June, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/errolschweizer/2022/06/22/why-worker-organizing-is-so-essential-to-the-food-industry/?sh=7be2eb4a6e13

  7. “Will the message sent by Amazon workers turn into a movement?” Pazzanese. The Harvard Gazette. April, 2022. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/04/the-future-of-labor-unions-according-to-harvard-economist/

  8. “Why Organized Labor Struggles in the American South”. Green. Union Track. January, 2020. https://uniontrack.com/blog/labor-american-south

  9. “Starbucks union push in Atlanta part of national organizing trend”. Kanell. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. June, 2022. https://www.ajc.com/news/starbucks-union-push-in-atlanta-part-of-national-organizing-trend/X63EYZJ7KNBDVCECVU5JZJQ3OM/

Alysha Rashid
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