More than 40,000 CT workers quit
For the third consecutive month, more than 40,000 Connecticut workers quit their jobs in September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to BLS surveys, roughly 44,000 Connecticut workers quit in September, including some who did so to enroll in school or other seasonal transitions. Less than 10,000 people filed initial claims for unemployment that month, suggesting the majority were able to get new jobs, start their own businesses or otherwise lean on income from a spouse.
It was the third consecutive month that the BLS quits tally for Connecticut topped the 40,000 mark. Over the past two decades, the previous high occurred in August 2019, when an estimated 41,000 workers served notice in Connecticut. Twice over that span — February 2009 and November 2011 — the official quits number has dipped as low as 11,000 in a single month.
Connecticut still had a lower rate of workers leaving their jobs in September — at 2.5 percent — than every state except New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Minnesota. The rate at which workers are leaving their jobs eased slightly in October to 2.8 percent, according to a BLS update last week, down from 3 percent the previous month that represented an historic high as more than 4.3 million workers left their jobs.
BLS is expected to update its state-level estimates this week.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported last week that Connecticut’s “insured unemployment” rate — workers who are receiving jobless benefits as a percentage of the total pool of workers or those actively looking for employment — stood at 1.45 percent.
It’s the lowest since November 2000 and down by half from the insured unemployment rate entering September, when DOL began phasing out enhanced jobless benefits that had been created to help people who had been laid off or otherwise financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Going back 35 years, Connecticut’s lowest insured unemployment rate occurred in October 1987 at 0.86 percent.
Omitted from the figure are independent workers who qualified for benefits during the pandemic; adults who are not seeking work; and those who take jobs on terms far below what they are seeking for hours, pay or other criteria.
As 2021 comes to a close, many workers remain in the driver’s seat, as employers struggle to maintain sufficient staffing to meet demand in a booming economy, whether through hiring or retaining the workers they have.
The Biden administration absorbed a backlash in September from many workers and employers after ordering mandatory vaccines for COVID-19 at companies and nonprofits, or weekly testing for the virus as an alternative.
It’s unknown how many people in Connecticut left their jobs to take offers on the table — presumably at equal or better pay and benefits — or whether they are taking hiatuses with plans to start interviewing in the new year or beyond.
A spokesperson with the Connecticut Department of Labor said the agency evaluates all claims for unemployment compensation “depending on the specific situation” of any filer, with the possibility of approvals for workers who are laid off after refusing to abide by an employer’s vaccine or weekly testing mandate.
Abilis is among the Connecticut employers that has been scrambling to replace workers who revolted against the White House order, which has been challenged in multiple lawsuits. CEO Amy Montimurro said she does not expect to regain full staffing until February, with the Greenwich nonprofit providing on-the-job coaching and life skills development for people with disabilities.
“It’s been months we’ve had these vacancies — definitely since September,” Montimurro said. “We did lose quite a few employees with the vaccination mandate — that’s why we’re in this situation.”
Korn Ferry, an executive recruitment firm with offices in New York City and Stamford, saw revenue spike to more than $1.2 billion between May and October, a 27 percent increase from the same six-month stretch in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
CEO Gary Burnison said beyond mandates and compensation, many companies still need to improve other opportunities for people to thrive in their professions.
“People want to grow, they want to be developed, they want to be stimulated — they want to know that what they do matters to another human being,” Burnison said during a conference call last week. “That can go a long way to, I think, reducing turnover . ... There is this hidden cost on every income statement called turnover.”