The wave of workers voluntarily leaving their jobs has largely returned to pre-pandemic levels after peaking during the Great Resignation period.
The chart tracks the annual average quits rate between 2015 and 2025 using Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Quits climbed steadily before the pandemic, surged sharply during the labor shortage years, then gradually cooled as hiring demand normalized.
The Peak Came During the Post-Pandemic Hiring Boom
The quits rate reached approximately 2.8% in 2022, the highest level in the chart.
That period reflected an unusually strong labor market where workers had greater confidence changing jobs, negotiating higher pay, or seeking more flexible work arrangements.
The sharp increase from roughly 2.0% in 2020 to more than 2.7% in 2021 and 2022 became one of the defining labor market trends of the post-pandemic economy.
Workers left jobs at elevated rates because employers were hiring aggressively and competition for talent intensified across industries.
Quits Have Since Fallen Back
After peaking in 2022, the quits rate declined steadily over the following years.
By 2025, the rate fell back to roughly 2.0%, close to levels seen before the pandemic hiring surge.
That decline suggests workers have become more cautious about switching employers as hiring conditions cooled and job openings declined from their earlier highs.
The labor market remains active, but it is no longer operating under the extreme demand conditions that fueled the Great Resignation.
The Labor Market Has Become More Balanced
The chart shows how dramatically labor conditions changed within only a few years.
Before the pandemic, quits generally moved within a narrower range between roughly 2.0% and 2.3%. The spike during 2021 and 2022 was historically unusual.
As inflation pressures increased and interest rates rose, businesses slowed expansion plans and became more selective in hiring.
That reduced some of the leverage workers previously had when changing jobs for higher pay or better benefits.
Why Workers Quit Less Frequently Now
Several economic shifts likely contributed to the normalization.
Job openings declined after the hiring boom, making it harder for workers to move quickly between employers. At the same time, layoffs in certain sectors increased uncertainty around job stability.
Remote and hybrid work also became more common after the pandemic, reducing some of the workplace frustrations that previously pushed employees to resign.
For many workers, flexibility improvements may have lowered the urgency to seek entirely new jobs.
What This Means for Workers
A lower quits rate usually signals a less aggressive hiring environment.
Workers may now prioritize stability more heavily than they did during the peak resignation years, especially in industries experiencing slower hiring growth.
However, the normalization also suggests the labor market is stabilizing rather than collapsing.
Employees with strong technical skills, specialized experience, or adaptable backgrounds still maintain advantages in competitive sectors.
The broader takeaway is that the extraordinary labor market conditions of the Great Resignation have mostly faded, replaced by a more balanced and cautious hiring environment.
Dataset
Data Sources
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED). (2026). Quits Rate: Total Nonfarm (JTSQUR). https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTSQUR
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). https://www.bls.gov/jlt/
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm
