4.2 Million People Quit Their Jobs in June, Job Openings Drop to 10.7 Million
About 4.2 million people quit their jobs in June at a rate of 2.8%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This number represented little change from the 4.3 million people who left jobs in April, at a rate of 2.8%.
Resignations decreased by 51,000 in construction and by 11,000 in leisure and hospitality. They increased by 14,000 in state and local government education and by 16,000 in retail trade.
The total number of separations in June, which includes quits, layoffs and discharges, was 5.9 million at a rate of 3.9%, marking little change from the month before. Layoffs and discharges totaled 1.3 million at an unchanged rate of 0.9%.
As of the last business day of June, the number of job openings decreased to 10.7 million. The largest decrease in job openings was in retail trade, where openings were down by 343,000. Hires totaled 6.4 million at 4.2%.
According to data released in June from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added 372,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate remained unchanged from May and April at 3.6%. Notable job gains continued in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, health care, transportation and warehousing, manufacturing and information. Employment in retail trade showed little change from the prior month.
Meanwhile, consumer prices increased by 9.1% in June compared to a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly report. This number was up from 8.6% growth in May and from the 8.3% growth in April and represented the largest 12-month increase since the period ending November 1981.
Watch on FN
Just last week, the U.S. economy retracted for the second quarter in a row, sparking recession concerns. Despite this milestone, the Federal Reserve and the Biden administration were quick to state that the U.S. is indeed not in a recession — at least not yet. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.75% on Wednesday, repeating the same hike seen in June.
