A REPORT from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday (Mar 6) showed the so-called quits rate – the rate at which workers voluntarily leave their jobs, excluding retirements – fell to 2.1 per cent in January. This was the lowest since August 2020 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

While policymakers have long worried that the labour market had become too tight and could fuel inflation, the updated trend in resignations suggests workers in the US are now leaving their jobs less often than was the case before the pandemic disruptions, when inflation was famously low.

The Great Resignation has given way to the Big Stay. The shift looks fairly broad-based, but it’s notably pronounced in some white-collar industries.