More and more American workers are quitting their jobs, and the Federal Reserve is taking notice.
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“The proportion of workers quitting their jobs is high, suggesting that workers are being hired away from their current employers and that others are confident enough about their prospects to leave jobs voluntarily – even before they have landed their next job,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said during a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago last month.
The number of people quitting their jobs in the private sector is hovering around historic highs, as tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its latest JOLTS report. Three million workers, or 2.4%, quit in February 2018, and the BLS tells FOX Business the recent reading is the ninth highest in JOLTS history.
While this is positive news for an economy on the upswing, it’s also good news for workers looking for better career opportunities and a fatter paycheck.
Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at recruiting site Glassdoor, tells FOX Business, “The job market is the strongest in a generation,” adding that April was the strongest month of the year for salary gains, rising 1.2%. “We see more workers in the driver’s seat with employers,” he says. The firm has 6 million online job postings, the highest in four years.
The hottest sectors for openings and pay are healthcare, where an average paycheck ranges from $60,000 to $70,000. Professional and business-service sector jobs are also hot, and salaries can be well into the “six figures” for certain tech and/or IT-related positions, says Chamberlain.
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LinkedIn, the online networking site for business professionals, notes there is a national shortage of marketing professionals to the tune of 203,000 and describes hiring in April as “strong and stable.”
On Friday, government data is expected to mirror that view. U.S. employers likely added 192,000 workers in April, according to Thomson Reuters, which would be an improvement from March, when 103,000 jobs were created. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 4% from 4.1%, according to Econoday, which tracks and provides insight on global economic trends.
That level, it notes, “would increasingly point to full employment and the risk of wage inflation” even though overall average hourly earnings are seen rising a paltry 0.2% for the month, while holding firm at 2.7% year-over-year.
President Donald Trump touts the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as a key driver of “America’s resurgence.” When asked what exactly is driving job growth, Chamberlain says it is more owing to a “series of positive events” but adds “tax cuts have not hurt.”
Suzanne O’Halloran is Managing Editor of FOXBusiness.com and a graduate of Boston College. Follow her on @suzohalloran
