The number of people leaving the workforce remained high, with 4.3 million quitting in January, according to data released Tuesday by the Department of Labor.
The January number is down slightly from the number who quit the month before. In November, the number of people quitting was the highest since the United States began keeping records of the statistic about two decades ago.
The “quits rate” measures the number of people who voluntarily left their jobs and includes those who left their previous employment for another job and people who quit but are confident they will soon find new employment, given the tightness in the labor market.
OIL PRICES CLIMB ON NEWS RUSSIAN ENERGY IMPORTS WILL BE BANNED
The number of job openings decreased slightly from the month before, with about 11.3 million openings in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
Job openings decreased by the largest margin in the accommodation and food services space, followed by transportation, warehousing, and utilities. Openings increased in durable goods manufacturing and other services.
The news comes after a better-than-anticipated jobs report last week. The economy again blew past expectations and added 678,000 jobs in February, an encouraging sign that the labor market is returning to its pre-pandemic strength.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.8%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, the lowest since the start of the pandemic.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Biden administration, though, is being beleaguered by inflation. Consumer prices rose 7.5% in the 12 months ending in January, the fastest pace of inflation in four decades.
The consensus among economists is that the February consumer price index report, which will be released on Thursday, will show inflation rose even more.
