“There’s a lot of choice out there, and that’s something rare that we haven't seen in this economy, where workers actually have more power than the companies,” Fox Business News correspondent Susan Li tells Inside Edition.
It’s the latest challenge for the nation's businesses: keeping workers on the job. The massive departure of people from the workforce is adding up to what's being called “the great resignation.”
In August, 4.2 million people quit their jobs, which is up 15% from 2019.
Former Walmart employee Beth McGrath resigned over the store's PA system and found a new job right away. Another worker says he quit because his company refused to give him a $1-per-hour raise.
“Don't stay somewhere you are not appreciated,” another worker said on social media.
“Who can blame the working population? People have been rethinking their life choices, where they want to work, where they want to be living. And it’s a great job market. We have more than 10 million jobs available, and you’re getting paid more. Wages went up close to 5% last month,” Fox Business News correspondent Susan Li said.
Restaurants and hotels are seeing the highest resignation rates — 7% of restaurant workers have quit.
“When the pandemic first hit and shut down the restaurant industry, a lot of people did not come back for all different reasons. They went to different industries, they had health concerns. It’s a tough business,” Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, told Inside Edition.
Disgruntled workers are also taking to the picket lines.
Ten-thousand John Deere employees just went on strike, joining 1,400 Kellogg's workers. In California, 20,000 nurses voted to go on strike next week. Hollywood is also facing a strike of 60,000 entertainment workers.
“There’s a lot of choice out there, and that’s something rare that we haven't seen in this economy, where workers actually have more power than the companies,” Li said.
