Job hopping already seems to be a trend of the past. Boosted by the tight labor market just after the pandemic, workers were scrambling for better pay, better perks and more flexibility. And businesses were more than willing to oblige.
But the WSJ reports that the supercharged effect of the pandemic largely wore off this past summer with just 1.1 job openings per unemployed worker, down from a high of 2 in March 2022.
The number of workers who left their jobs last year hit the lowest level since 2020. Americans quit 39.6 million jobs in 2024, down 11% from the year before and down 22% from a recent peak in 2022, according to Labor Department data published earlier this month.
It’s not just the quitting that has slowed down. Hiring is also cooling, as the share of workers hired into new jobs every month fell to an average of 3.5% in 2024, a decline from a recent peak of about 4.4% in 2021. High-paying jobs in tech, law, and related industries are becoming harder to find, while hands-on fields like healthcare and hospitality still have plenty of openings.
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