As the economy has continued to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in job openings, with some employers having a difficult time filling all their open positions. Millions of Americans are quitting their jobs each month, even in the face of high inflation. The incentives available from changing jobs, as well as a desire to get away from careers impacted most by COVID-19, are two big factors driving what’s been dubbed the “Great Resignation.” As a result, new job applicants have a lot of leverage.
The rate at which people quit their jobs isn’t the same across the whole country, though. WalletHub took a look at the data to rank the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on how frequently people are leaving their places of employment.
Main Findings
States With the Highest Job Resignation Rates
| Rank | State | Resignation Rate (Latest Month) | Resignation Rate (Last 12 Months) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 4.50% | 4.37% |
| 2 | Wyoming | 4.10% | 3.59% |
| 3 | Montana | 3.50% | 3.58% |
| 4 | Louisiana | 3.40% | 3.38% |
| 5 | Delaware | 3.30% | 3.29% |
| 6 | West Virginia | 3.20% | 3.27% |
| 7 | Tennessee | 3.00% | 3.48% |
| 8 | Kentucky | 2.90% | 3.59% |
| 9 | Georgia | 2.70% | 3.88% |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 3.00% | 3.38% |
| 11 | South Carolina | 2.90% | 3.49% |
| 12 | Arkansas | 3.00% | 3.28% |
| 13 | Mississippi | 2.80% | 3.51% |
| 14 | Alabama | 2.90% | 3.29% |
| 15 | Arizona | 2.60% | 3.53% |
| 16 | Indiana | 2.80% | 3.15% |
| 17 | Nevada | 2.80% | 3.04% |
| 18 | Idaho | 2.60% | 3.25% |
| 19 | Iowa | 2.90% | 2.76% |
| 20 | Texas | 2.70% | 3.08% |
| 21 | North Carolina | 2.50% | 3.19% |
| 22 | South Dakota | 2.70% | 2.68% |
| 23 | Oregon | 2.60% | 2.84% |
| 24 | Florida | 2.30% | 3.22% |
| 25 | Utah | 2.40% | 3.03% |
| 26 | North Dakota | 2.40% | 2.88% |
| 27 | Maine | 2.50% | 2.62% |
| 28 | Maryland | 2.50% | 2.58% |
| 29 | Vermont | 2.20% | 3.05% |
| 30 | Kansas | 2.40% | 2.65% |
| 31 | Missouri | 2.20% | 2.92% |
| 32 | Colorado | 2.20% | 2.89% |
| 33 | Minnesota | 2.40% | 2.48% |
| 34 | Virginia | 2.20% | 2.78% |
| 35 | New Mexico | 2.10% | 2.82% |
| 36 | Nebraska | 2.10% | 2.73% |
| 37 | New Hampshire | 2.10% | 2.71% |
| 38 | Illinois | 2.20% | 2.51% |
| 39 | Michigan | 2.10% | 2.64% |
| 40 | Ohio | 2.10% | 2.62% |
| 41 | Washington | 2.20% | 2.42% |
| 42 | Wisconsin | 2.10% | 2.57% |
| 43 | California | 2.20% | 2.40% |
| 44 | Rhode Island | 2.00% | 2.59% |
| 45 | Hawaii | 1.70% | 2.53% |
| 46 | Connecticut | 1.80% | 2.21% |
| 47 | Massachusetts | 1.70% | 2.20% |
| 48 | District of Columbia | 1.60% | 2.06% |
| 49 | New Jersey | 1.50% | 2.20% |
| 50 | Pennsylvania | 1.40% | 2.14% |
| 51 | New York | 1.30% | 1.80% |
Ask the Experts
To shed some more light on the recent trend of people quitting their jobs, WalletHub turned to a panel of experts. Click on the experts’ pictures below to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:
- What are the main factors that are influencing this shift in the labor force?
- How is the decrease in labor force participation affecting the employers?
- Has remote working determined, in any way, this change in the labor force?
- What will be, if any, the economic impact of this workforce-trend?
- Will this be a long-term issue or will we see a re-entering in the labor force of the prime-age workers in 2023?
Ask the Experts
Former President and Current University Professor, Department of Sociology – University of Virginia
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Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Truist Leadership Faculty – Radford University
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T Wilson (1953) Professor of Management, Emerita and Professor, Work and Organization Studies, Emerita – MIT Sloan School of Management
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Professor of Business Law, Retired – Boston College Carroll School of Management
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Melvin T. Stith Sr. Professor in Business Administration, Department of Management – Florida State University's College of Business
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Xingmei Zhang and Yongge Dai Professor, Professor of Management, The Wharton School – The University of Pennsylvania
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Methodology
To rank the states and the District of Columbia, WalletHub considered the rate at which people quit their jobs in both the latest month and the last 12 months. We then used these metrics to rank-order the resignation rates from highest to lowest.
- Resignation Rate (Latest Month): Double Weight (~66.67 Points)
- Resignation Rate (Last 12 Months): Full Weight (~33.33 Points)
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.