People in This State Are Quitting Their Jobs The Fastest -- And It's Not Even Close

The Great Resignation has hit some states much harder than others.

There is quiet quitting and then there are those actually handing in their notice. While the Great Resignation is down from its peak in 2021, 4 million Americans or 2.6% of the workforce still left their jobs last October alone. 

Amid a labor shortage and an unemployment rate at lows unseen since 1969, many workers have more options than ever and do not hesitate to look for other work arrangements. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics pins quit numbers for all of 2022 at 47 million.

Spanish-language financial advisory company Creditos En USA identified Alaska as the state where workers are leaving jobs the fastest; between July and October 2022, an average 4.33% of the workforce quit each month. The state is a sparsely-populated one so this averages out to 13,750 people per month.

These Are The States Losing The Most Workers

Georgia, Montana, Mississippi and Arizona all landed in the top five when it comes to high quit rates -- the latter has been seeing an average of 107,000 resignations each month.

The phenomenon of looking for something better is so common that the term "rage applying," or sending in some resumes after a particularly stressful day at work, has been increasingly picking up traction on the internet.

"[People who quit] are united by a high proportion of people deciding to leave their job," a company spokesperson said. "Across the US, [...] four million people each month choose to quit -- that's equivalent to the entire population of Oklahoma."

By contrast, workers in New York stay put a lot more. During the same time period, only 161,500 people or 1.7% of the workforce left their jobs.

In general, states with large numbers of professionals and high earners tended to have lower quit rates -- after New York, Washington, D.C., Connecticut, New Jersey and California are all in the bottom five.

Nationwide, the average was 2.68% or 4,082,000 people each month.

States With High Salaries Generally See Lower Numbers Of Resignations

As the country's most populous state, California lost an average of 382,250 people every month but that amounts to just 2.15% of its workforce.

The study more or less confirms speculation that employers may win over workers with high salaries and good benefits packages.

Earlier this year, the BLS identified accommodation and food services as the industry losing workers the fastest. Between April and August 2022, it lost 5.8%, or an average of 773,600 workers each month. Retail also has a high quit rate -- 3.82% or 600,400 workers each month -- along with warehousing, construction, health care, and manufacturing.

While traditionally blue-collar jobs saw higher quit rates, the loosely defined "professional and business services" also scored fourth when it comes to losing workers.

In this type of labor market, employers have to work to both recruit and retain workers not just with higher offers but also stronger benefits packages.

"You are starting to see a good portfolio of benefits in industries that you used to not have these benefits," Svenja Gudell, the chief economist at the Recruit Holdings  (RCRRF) -owned job-searching site Indeed.com, told TheStreet in an exclusive interview last October. "Particularly for PTO, health care and retirement funds, you'll see a strong pickup amid lower-wage jobs. Free lunch and commuter benefits are being offered in industries like manufacturing, aerospace, and defense."