Employees leaving jobs at the highest rate in nine years — here’s why

by Tim Gould

Are you starting to worry about an increase in employees leaving your organization for greener pastures? A report just released by the DOL might heighten your concern.  

The number of American workers voluntarily quitting their jobs hit a nine-year high in December, according to the DOL’s monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

What’s more, job openings rose by 261,000 to a seasonally adjusted 5.61 million in December, the DOL said. That’s the second highest reading since the agency started to chart those numbers in 2001.

Certainly, increased job openings is a good sign for the overall economy. But that quit rate rise should raise some eyebrows. Here’s what the JOLT report says:

There were 3.1 million quits in December, up from November. The number of quits is now higher than in December 2007 (2.8 million), the first month of the recession. The quits rate was 2.1 percent in December 2015. The number of quits rose for total private and government over the month.
Quits rose in state and local government (+20,000) but fell in nondurable goods manufacturing (-25,000). Quits increased in the South region over the month.
The number of quits (not seasonally adjusted) increased over the 12 months ending in December for total nonfarm, total private, and government. Quits increased over the year in several industries with the largest changes occurring in professional and business services (+102,000), accommodation and food services (+68,000), and retail trade (+58,000). In the regions, quits rose in the South and Midwest.

The reasons they’re leaving

And why are they quitting? Somewhat surprisingly, it’s not compensation.

Click here for entire article.