However, according to the most recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, wage growth remains elevated: wages grew 6% on an annualized basis in May 2023, compared to May 2022. Wage growth shot up in 2021, peaking in August 2022. By the end of 2022, an additional 50.5 million workers had quit. That was the largest number since it began compiling annual statistics in 2001. In 2021, 47.7 million people voluntarily left their jobs, according to the BLS.

The Great Resignation had clear benefits for workers, since wages went up and benefits improved across many industries, said Nick Bunker, the director of economic research at job listings site Indeed. “It’s a topic I’ve not discussed or heard about in at least six months.” Most employers are no longer concerned about a rise in worker resignations, Bloom said. Essentially, quits are back to the 2019 pre-Covid average. In fact, the so-called “quits” rate has steadily declined since last spring and is now virtually identical (just 0.1% above) the pre-pandemic rate in February 2020. “But that’s moved into the window of history now.”ĭata from the Bureau of Labor Statistics bolsters Bloom’s observation: The number of people quitting their jobs fell by 49,000 in April compared to March, according to the most recent numbers available from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The combination of a tight labor market and structural change from the pandemic catalyzed job reshuffling over the past three years, he said. “The great resignation, by really any measure, is over,” said Nicholas Bloom, a professor of economics at Stanford University who studies labor economics. Ten straight interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, slowing wage growth, stubborn inflation and mass layoffs in some industries may be causing Americans to stay put. Now, experts say the phenomenon is finished. The trend was so prevalent that Beyoncé even released a song about it. Amid a tight labor market, many were also able to find a better job, with better pay. As the dust begins to settle on the Covid-fueled economic tumult of the last few years, one pandemic-era trend appears to be on its way out: The Great Resignation.Īlmost 50 million people quit their job in the two years following the worst of the pandemic, citing pressures such as burnout, general job dissatisfaction, or child care or elder care needs.

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