Why are Americans choosing to quit their jobs in record numbers? By 60 Minutes

we’ve all seen signs in front of shops restaurants in factories are hiring help wanted and now the Omicron variant is taking a toll on the already depleted Workforce we wondered how there can be so many open jobs when your lie every employer seems to be offering better pay benefits and even signing bonuses the government jobs report released this past week tells us what has happened well over twenty million people quit their jobs in the second half of 2021 summer calling it The Big quit others the great resignation but who can explain why this is happening

Bill Whitaker reports he found the best place to look for real-time answers is the huge online job site LinkedIn which calls itself the world’s largest Professional Network

the story will continue in a moment

people have been living to work for a very long time and I think the pandemic brought that moment of reflection for everyone what do I want to do what makes my heart sing

and people are thinking if not now then when Karen Kimbrough is linkedin’s Chief Economist she has degrees from Stanford and Harvard and a PhD from Oxford used to work for the Federal Reserve and now has a bird’s-eye view of the US Labor Market

view of the data we can

across millions of members and what they share with us and we can see from employers millions of them that are posting jobs on our platform there is one person hired every 15 seconds right now on LinkedIn with linkedin’s data on who is leaving jobs is most compelling millions of baby boomers retiring early but also millions of gen Z workers people in their teens and early twenties many more women than men in all the highest quit rate since the government started keeping track two decades ago at the Nationwide level the number of Americans quitting their job is higher than ever and ever tell you why

we can see what sectors people are quitting retail sectors and Hospitality sectors it may not be worth it for some folks and so send some cases people are quitting and they’re not yet returning they’re taking a break Americans brunch out I like to think of it as it said take this job and shove it measure it’s just a sign of people saying you know I don’t need this

the most recent data show people quitting jobs across the board 4.4% of all positions in education are open over 6% in retail and more than 8% in healthcare open jobs in hotels and restaurants are nearly 9% that’s almost a million and a half they can positions we do have openings and we do need more employees Carl sobocinski owns several restaurants in Greenville South Carolina both in the kitchen and out front waiting tables what’s the biggest challenge in the tracking them and keeping the employees that’s a problem that they’re just not out there where we are we just don’t have the workers out there looking for the jobs construction is another sector without enough workers at last count there were nearly 350,000 open construction jobs Nationwide we’re finding it more difficult to find people

right now absolutely across-the-board James Jordan owns a fast-growing construction company in Greenville we’ve doubled our Revenue year-over-year we don’t have a work problem at all now is just a matter of finding the individuals to be able to do the form to work so it’s not a work problem it’s a worker problem is a worker problem we came to Greenville South Carolina after seeing it on a LinkedIn data map showing trends of geographic migration lots of workers leaving big cities like San Francisco and Chicago and lots of workers moving to places like Austin and Miami and Greenville that’s another big sign of this job market people are moving a lot of people are just often because of affordable housing cost to choose

more affordable places smaller cities they give you more space will feel safer and people are willing to try something new for what you’d pay your rent an apartment in San Francisco you can buy a nice house in Greenville it has attracted big employers like BMW and Michelin but also tries to nurture small businesses and startups still you see all the same Help Wanted signs on greenville’s Main Street as you would in any big city many people believe that generous government stimulus and unemployment benefits are really what’s keeping so many workers on the sidelines no matter where they live a quick answer people say is we’re still providing too many benefits to many people can sit at home and and get a check I personally disagree with that our Associates that didn’t come back they’re not sitting at home they found other careers other

Wendy’s that fit their lifestyle better what we saw was that Wendy’s benefits were turned off when workers were no longer getting the benefits they did not rush back to work what is X are you that tells me that it’s not just a function of the benefits of not the only thing that’s going on in the heads of workers when they make that calculus about should I go back will I go back and for what job

producing of a fundamental shift in the balance of power between employers and employees social contract work is being Rewritten and right now the workers holding up in there are

just thousands upon thousands of available jobs in America right now and companies are eager to hire but workers are being very choosy employees are kind of in the driver’s seat employees are in the driver seat right now

workers want better pay and benefits of course but they’re also demanding autonomy and flexibility particularly and their work schedules and employers large and small simply have to respond to Billy’s critical this is the employees to man the employees they want flexibility and if you are an employer that won’t

it won’t work with your employees to to be flexible with them then you’re going to be you’re missing out I mean you have to so is it the case that gone are the days where an employer would say you’re just lucky to have this job done so I think so nothing is for the better James Jordans construction company will pay in employees tuition if they want to continue their education offered, come on in and they’re moving expenses if they relocate and like so many employers he’s offering signing bonuses and flexible hours to new hires I understand there was one young man one young recruits that you called every day for two months I did

really wanted this young man I thought I did did you finally get him I finally got him he started last week Monday what a stunning turnaround from the spring of 2020 when the pandemic is centrally shut the economy down we had never seen anything like it when you lose 22 million jobs in just two months and it’s Unthinkable Kimbrough remembers that working mothers were and still are among those hardest hit as the pandemic Rob them of many of their child care options great story of resilience because we’re seeing more more women come back into the workforce we’re still missing a few million women by the way in the workforce are not fully they’re still missing a few million women

but we’re seeing them come back and predominately the women that were missing are parents of young children

they were hit the hardest I just decided to leave I had nowhere to go I had no hopes for employment and luckily my husband was gainfully employed and I was able to do that I just walked by Melissa Williams walked away from a marketing job in Greenville in early 2021 when the pandemic hit she was balancing marriage motherhood and her career you know you’re part of a trend guess there’s like a fundamental resignation

people who are saying and doing what you did I die I can do better than this this isn’t this isn’t fun this isn’t me I’m very scary if I have I’ve been employed since I was 17 years old I remember going home after I put in my resignation and I just sat there on the couch and I was like what sizes do I put my job I have no job to go to we have bills we have a child we have responsibilities I might have to like go for a walk

we went for a walk

it is challenging to go say I’m a go out on my own in general it really does take some work but people want to have control Kenzie Biggins move to Greenville and 47th a few years after she found it works be which pairs remote assistance with Executives and companies that need administrative help you find an executive assistant all over the country and you team them up with Executives and companies also all over the country so one can be in Greenville and an executive can be in Chicago yeah it’s all about the best pairing for you since he had the idea for Works be years before the pandemic made such Arrangements common you were ahead of the curve and the curve caught up

let me just say this I got a lot of crazy looks for a very long time you know walking into places and saying you should have a virtual executive assistant people look at me like I had five heads they were like what pandemic hits and all the sudden you’re a genius or people a month to close ain’t into 18 people per month which is quite the jump and bringing a new EA’s Americans have really taken a liking to remote work there two and a half times as likely to apply to a job that’s remote versus a job that’s not remote the different from pre-pandemic pre-pandemic I think one and every 67 jobs was a remote job and now it’s one in 771 and 7 jobs as remote now that’s a huge huge huge rise in and I think what it is is that companies have realized that if they want to attract candidates

I kind of need to meet them where they are now works be found me at the most opportune time after quitting her office job Melissa started with work speed is finally showing in Stripes oh Hallelujah organizations you’re working for three different bosses from home all virtually it sounds like you could be just as busy as you were before I am I am just as busy the difference is it’s my choice I do

I do I am also an English instructor at Greenville Technical College Works be the ability to design your work life does that make it possible for you to now enjoy what seems to be your passion to teach English swing back toward employers

especially as workers who quit their jobs deplete their savings but Karen Kimbrough expects employees to clean to the flexibility they’ve fought for

friend worth having more flexibility could be permanent I honestly can say I don’t see myself going back to an office ever and ever honestly there is no office I could offer me what I have in my house

the hospital