In the summer, she left a position at a small social media marketing agency for a bigger firm offering more money and greater responsibility.
She's hardly alone. Nearly 4 million Americans on average quit their jobs each month last year, an unprecedented wave of workplace turnover as the economy emerged from a pandemic-induced recession that, while brief, appears to be leaving a lasting imprint on the U.S. job market.Job openings are near historically high levels as companies seek to rebuild staff or pivot in response to changes in consumer demand, and there aren't enough workers to fill all the positions.
Business is booming for Goodwin Recruiting, which works regularly with hospitality customers. Allegra Highsmith, vice president of operations, said the firm is now recruiting for roughly 4,700 openings, up from about 1,500 at the start of March 2020, just before the pandemic shuttered the economy.A worker sits at his desk in an office building in Washington, U.S., August 3, 2018.
But Sorrentino, who also owns a catering business, said he is still having a hard time finding skilled managers, servers and bartenders. "We have to be competitive not only with the other restaurants, but with every other kind of industry that is offering the same things," he said.Not all people who quit are moving to better jobs.