Workers aren’t in a job quitting mood
The “Looking Glass” ponders economic and real estate trends through two distinct lenses: the optimist’s “glass half-full” and the pessimist’s “glass halfempty.”
BUZZ >> Californians are slow to the “quit your job” trend.
SOURCE >> The state-by-state JOLT (Job Openings and Labor Turnover) report for September by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It details the reasons behind the swings in broader employment trends.
DEBATE >> Quits are curiously seen as a measure of worker confidence — the more the merrier. Why? Financial logic suggests you don’t quit your current job if you don’t think a replacement is easy to find. So if “voluntary departures” are more popular outside of California, are Golden State workers worried about job prospects?
Glass half-empty
September saw 443,000 quits in California. Again, that’s the most “I’m outta here” notes to the boss among the states. But remember, California is also the nation’s largest job market.
So quitters represent only 2.7% of all workers — the 11th smallest share nationally and below the 3% U.S. quit rate.
But workplace stability isn’t anything exactly new in the state. Between 2000 and 2019, California averaged a 3.2% quit rate, 12th lowest nationally.
And the pace of California quitting is meekly on the rise in the “Great Resignation” era. September’s voluntary exits were up 8.5% compared to the previous three-month average, only the 29th biggest increase and below 9.3% nationwide.
Glass half-full
California bosses hired 660,000 people in September — tops in the nation — although that’s only 4% of all workers. That’s the 10th-lowest share nationally and below the 4.4% U.S. rate.
The pace of staffing growth is picking up. California hires compared to the previous three-month average? Up 3.7% (No. 10) versus a 3.5% nationwide dip.
And firings are rare with 117,000 layoffs or discharges — only 0.7% of all California workers. That’s good news as it’s the seventh-lowest share nationally; below the 0.9% U.S. rate; and down 0.3% (No. 23) versus the three-month average.
What’s ahead
California bosses need more workers as September had 1.16 million unfilled positions statewide — No. 1 nationally.
Yet those vacant positions