Higher pay and ample employment opportunities drove Americans to leave their jobs in record numbers. This so-called great resignation was largely about finding a better gig rather than not wanting a job, economists said."The pandemic gave workers more leverage than they'd ever had," said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.
The dynamic has changed, however. The U.S. labor market has gradually cooled, staffing shortages have become less of an issue and workers appearWe are much closer to the labor market we had in 2019, which was hot but not overheating.In short, the labor market is returning to normal, and the balance of power has shifted, she said.
While workers are unlikely to be "handed jobs on a platter" anymore, conditions remain favorable for them, Pollak added.Conditions are still favorable for job seekersmild recessionIn fact, certain metrics in the BLS' JOLTS report suggest the job market became somewhat more favorable for workers in April. Job openings — a proxy for employer demand for workers — increased to 10.1 million after three consecutive months of declines, for example.
While quits and job openings told different labor market stories in April, quits are generally a less volatile and more reliable indicator, economists said.Due to economic uncertainty, however, it's "more important than ever" for workers to do their research before accepting a job, he added. That might mean researching the financial stability of the company to which they're applying and whether the company has had recent layoffs, Zhao said. It may also mean reaching out to company employees in their job network to gauge sentiment and confidence, he added.