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There’s a new report from consumer financial website WalletHub which focuses on states where workers are … well, quitting.
Based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the report chronicled “the rate at which people quit their jobs in both the latest month and the last 12 months.”
“As the economy has continued to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in job openings, with some employers having a difficult time filling all their open positions,” the report noted. “Millions of Americans are quitting their jobs each month, even in the face of high inflation. The incentives available from changing jobs, as well as a desire to get away from careers impacted most by COVID-19, are two big factors driving what’s been dubbed the ‘Great Resignation.’”
So where is this “Great Resignation” most pronounced? Sadly, in South Carolina.
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According to the numbers, the Palmetto State’s “resignation rate” was 3.5 percent over the past month – which was second-highest in the nation (trailing only Louisiana’s 3.7 percent). By comparison, the rate for the most recent annual data (a.k.a. the latest twelve-month period) clocked in at 3.38 percent – ranking South Carolina No. 7 in the nation in terms of the highest resignation rate.
Those are both terrible numbers, people … and point to continued struggles when it comes to the Palmetto State’s underperforming workforce.
According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) – which is scheduled to be updated later this week – only West Virginia and Mississippi are faring worse than South Carolina when it comes to labor participation, the most critical jobs metric.
How are “Republican” legislators in the supermajority GOP House of Representatives and State Senate responding? By doubling down on the same approaches that have created these persistent workforce problems, sadly. At a time when individual taxpayers and small businesses desperately need help, these “conservatives” are blowing money on bloated bureaucracies and unchecked corporate welfare – and then sitting around with not-so-bright looks on their faces wondering why our state’s economy isn’t advancing.
As I noted last month, GOP supermajorities and “Republican” governor Henry McMaster “continue to squander massive taxpayer-provided surpluses on unnecessary bureaucratic expansions and billion-dollar handouts to select corporations.”
Until that changes, expect South Carolina’s jobs situation to continue to deteriorate …
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
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6 comments
Is this really an issue? I understand that labor participation is high and that’s terrible. I don’t think this number means that people just quit their jobs and didn’t get another one. What’s wrong with people quitting their crappy job and finding a better one?
Of course, heads families and single educated women are quitting their jobs to move the heck away from SC.
GQP policies in action.
you haven’t been to Charleston lately?
A high resignation rate coupled with low unemployment rate generally only means that the economy is pretty dynamic in terms of employers competing for qualified employees and those people who have reasonably strong credentials and a positive view of the local area economy are more willing to step out for a new opportunity. When you add a low participation rate to the mix it gets more complicated. It could be that the welfare state is too rich and lower class people are more willing to just not try to stay employed. It could also be that more married people with kids are choosing to have one parent (usually mom) stay at home full time with the kids – and if they can afford to do that many folks would view that as a positive thing. It can also be that a larger percentage of the population is older, and thus retiring out of the workforce – and when you have a high net influx of out-of-state retirees moving in, that certainly decreases the overall population participating in the labor market. I think our situation combines a bit of all 3 factors when it comes to our participation rate. Inflation can also cause the labor participation rate to increase – a retiree or stay at home parent has to go back to work because the nest egg is going to be depleted too quickly or the one working parent’s earning just can’t make ends meet anymore. That is, of course, not a desirable situation. Bottom line, the labor participation rate isn’t automatically or consistently a good or bad thing just because it goes up or down – one has to look at the “why.”
Well, not everyone can grift off the career of a “news outlet” blahgger writing the same rants over and over again whilst sitting at home in his shorts scratching his nuts.
do you wish you were scratching his nuts? Nikki used too.