- The trend of people quitting across the United States continued in February.
- North Carolina and Ohio saw their quit rates increase the most, by 0.5 percentage points.
- The following two maps show where quit and job openings rates were the highest in February.
The Great Resignation charged forward into February, and new data reveals exactly which states are seeing the biggest waves of quitting.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released February quit and job openings data for each state and DC on Wednesday, shedding new light on the unusually tight job market. A prior report from the agency showed nearly 4.4 million Americans quitting through February, marking the ninth consecutive month of more than 4 million quits. With job openings still near record highs, the elevated quit counts signal businesses are still struggling to hire and keep workers amid the recovery.
Quitting intensified the most in North Carolina and Ohio, with both states seeing their quit rates climb by 0.5 percentage points, according to the Wednesday report. Florida followed with a 0.4 point increase, along with the largest increase in the number of quits, rising by 40,000, from 264,000 in January to 304,000 in February.
Arizona and Michigan saw their quit rates fall by 0.5 points, marking the largest February declines.
Alaska's quit rate of 5.1% remained the country's highest by a decent margin. Montana followed with a rate of 4.0%. New York and Pennsylvania, meanwhile, tied for the lowest quit rates of 2.1%.
The data shows little change to the nationwide quitting trend, apart from slight easing in some states and increased quitting in others. More populous states and metropolitan areas have generally seen less quitting over the past several months as jobs rebound and workers are called back to offices. Rural areas have experienced the opposite, with quit rates lingering at elevated levels.
Quits count both retirements and workers moving out of one job and into another. As such, it's unclear whether states with higher quit rates are seeing major churn in the labor market or more worrying exits from the workforce.
With job openings holding at extraordinary highs, it's certainly easier for quitting Americans to find jobs elsewhere.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Georgia and Washington experienced the largest increases in their job openings rates, both increasing by 1.0 percentage point. On the other hand, BLS noted Nebraska and Pennsylvania saw their rates decline by 1.8 points, the most out of any state or DC in February.
Despite the trend of people quitting around the nation, not everyone is satisfied with their recent departures. As Insider's Hillary Hoffower wrote, about one in five workers who quit in the past two years regretted this decision, according to a Harris Poll survey by USA Today.
Although some people may regret being part of the Great Resignation, there were millions of people quitting in February.
"The high level of quits is really a sign of workers' confidence," Nick Bunker, economic research director at Indeed Hiring Lab, previously told Insider. "At the same time, we're seeing really low layoffs, which is a sign of the security that many workers have right now."