The U.S. Department of Labor reported a total of 4.3 million people quitting their jobs in August, making it one of the highest records ever recorded since December 2020.
The retrenchment rate rose to 2.9% by 242,000 from 2.7% previously, according to a survey by the Department of Job Opening and Labor Procurement.
This was led by the food and accommodation services sector, with the loss of 892,000 workers in August. Meanwhile, in the retail sector, 721,000 lost their jobs and 534,000 workers lost their health care and social assistance.
The recruitment rate fell to 4.3% from 4.6% in the previous month, partly due to lower recruitment in the hospitality sector. Employment in the government sector also declined in August, from 2.2% to 1.4%.
Job openings also dropped significantly to 10.44 million during the month, from 11.1 million previously recorded.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing delta variant have fundamentally changed the strength of the labor market, with health and childcare problems being one of the issues to this layoff.
Although Covid-19 cases are seen to have shown a worldwide decline, some health experts expect there to be another increase in the coming cold months.
These figures are likely to catch the attention of the Federal Reserve (Fed) as it prepares to begin pulling back on the monetary stimulus implemented in the face of a pandemic.
