As the economy has started 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. As a result, new applicants have a lot of leverage. 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,” with millions of Americans quitting their jobs each month.
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 | 3.90% | 4.15% |
| 2 | Florida | 4.30% | 3.20% |
| 3 | Arizona | 4.20% | 3.33% |
| 4 | South Carolina | 4.00% | 3.43% |
| 5 | Georgia | 3.70% | 3.79% |
| 6 | Mississippi | 3.70% | 3.43% |
| 7 | Nevada | 3.30% | 3.76% |
| 8 | North Carolina | 3.50% | 3.38% |
| 9 | Wyoming | 3.40% | 3.39% |
| 10 | Alabama | 3.50% | 3.15% |
| 11 | Louisiana | 3.40% | 3.29% |
| 12 | Kentucky | 3.20% | 3.49% |
| 13 | Montana | 3.20% | 3.47% |
| 14 | Idaho | 3.10% | 3.35% |
| 15 | West Virginia | 3.10% | 3.31% |
| 16 | Utah | 3.30% | 2.95% |
| 17 | Tennessee | 3.10% | 3.21% |
| 18 | Indiana | 3.00% | 3.28% |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 3.00% | 3.18% |
| 20 | Delaware | 3.00% | 3.18% |
| 21 | Arkansas | 3.00% | 3.17% |
| 22 | Colorado | 2.90% | 3.29% |
| 23 | Texas | 3.00% | 3.04% |
| 24 | Hawaii | 2.50% | 3.50% |
| 25 | Oregon | 2.70% | 3.04% |
| 26 | Vermont | 2.80% | 2.83% |
| 27 | New Mexico | 2.70% | 2.90% |
| 28 | Virginia | 2.60% | 2.78% |
| 29 | North Dakota | 2.40% | 3.08% |
| 30 | Illinois | 2.50% | 2.83% |
| 31 | Nebraska | 2.50% | 2.72% |
| 32 | New Hampshire | 2.40% | 2.86% |
| 33 | South Dakota | 2.50% | 2.67% |
| 34 | Washington | 2.60% | 2.47% |
| 35 | Wisconsin | 2.40% | 2.79% |
| 36 | Ohio | 2.40% | 2.76% |
| 37 | Missouri | 2.30% | 2.87% |
| 38 | Michigan | 2.20% | 3.03% |
| 39 | California | 2.50% | 2.52% |
| 40 | Rhode Island | 2.30% | 2.68% |
| 41 | Kansas | 2.30% | 2.63% |
| 42 | Iowa | 2.30% | 2.62% |
| 43 | New Jersey | 2.30% | 2.48% |
| 44 | Maryland | 2.30% | 2.48% |
| 45 | Minnesota | 2.20% | 2.45% |
| 46 | Maine | 2.00% | 2.69% |
| 47 | Pennsylvania | 2.10% | 2.24% |
| 48 | Massachusetts | 1.90% | 2.28% |
| 49 | Connecticut | 1.90% | 2.24% |
| 50 | District of Columbia | 1.90% | 2.03% |
| 51 | New York | 1.70% | 1.95% |
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?
- Have the pandemic and the 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 2022?
Ask the Experts
Professor of Economics – Iowa State University and Past President, Southern Regional Science Association
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Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Applied Behavioral Science; Director, Center for Applied Research (CAR); Graziadio Business School – Pepperdine University
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Ph.D. – Professor of Management, Coordinator of OBHR Ph.D. Program, Department of Management and Human Resources, Fisher College of Business – The Ohio State University
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Associate Professor, Economics and Accounting Department – College of the Holy Cross
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Ph.D. – Dean, School of Business Administration – Widener University and author of HR Without People? Industrial Evolution in the Age of Automation, AI, and Machine Learning
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Laurence A. Bloom Professor of Economics, Department of Economics – Boston University
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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.