A record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November

A RECORD 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November while openings remained elevated, highlighting persistent churn in the labour market.

The increase in departures was broad across industries and pushed the quits rate up to 3 per cent, matching the most in data back to 2000. Meanwhile, the number of available positions fell to 10.6 million from an upwardly revised 11.1 million in October, the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or Jolts, showed on Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a rise to 11.1 million job openings. While the drop was the largest since April 2020, vacancies remain well above pre-pandemic levels.

The unprecedented level of quits - including a record 1 million in leisure and hospitality alone - suggests a lingering struggle for employers to retain talent. Meanwhile, the month's increase in hiring showed companies were able to make at least some headway filling vacancies.