Take This Job and Shove It: Quits Top Four Million Even as Openings Dip

The number of people quitting their jobs topped four million for the first time in five months, data from the Labor Department showed Thursday.

A high number of quits is typically a sign that workers feel confident that jobs are plentiful. In a separate report on Thursday, payroll processor ADP said the private sector added 497,000 workers to payrolls in June, more than twice what economists had forecast.

Job openings dipped to 9.8 million in May from a revised April figure of 10.3 million. Openings hit an all-time high of 12 million last year and have bounced around since then. Despite the decline, openings remain very high by historical standards. Prior to the pandemic, openings had never hit eight million.

In May, the largest declines in job openings were in health care and social assistance, where openings declined by 285,000, and finance and insurance, which saw openings fall by 139,000. Job openings rose in education and government.

Openings fell slightly in construction, declining to 254,000 from 277,000. Openings were up in manufacturing, retail, and hospitality and leisure.