Gen Zers and millennials could see the biggest pay gains from not quitting, even if they are more likely than other generations to resign this year.Ĭlose to 72% of Gen Zers and 66% of millennials are considering a career change in the next 12 months, compared to 55% of Gen Xers and 30% of baby boomers, a recent LinkedIn survey found. 'If you're wondering what the next six months will look like, we can expect to see a labor market that's starting to re-balance,' she explains.' 'This means that jobs will become more competitive, and the benefits employers were offering just to get people in the door, like remote work, will ease.' What the 'big stay' means for Gen Z, millennials in the workforce Now that companies have more or less recovered the millions of jobs they lost to the pandemic, workers have lost some leverage, says Richardson. As of March, there were close to 9.5 million job openings, down 20% from a year ago, according to federal data.Īt the same time, the number of people returning to the job market has increased: During the depths of the pandemic, the labor force participation rate fell to less than 80%, but edged up again to 83.3% this April, the highest rate in 25 years, which has boosted hiring. While there are still a lot of job openings, these numbers are nowhere near the historically high level that spurred the great resignation. The demand for talent and supply of candidates is finally evening out. 'The labor market is no longer in job switchers' favor.' Smaller pay bumps for job switchers Now, most of the social supports job-switchers have counted on are 'gone,' she adds.

'All of the challenges of the pandemic led us to re-evaluate the purpose of work in our lives … but the labor market of 2021-2022 supported this self-reflection: stimulus checks, a moratorium on rent payments, all of these initiatives relieved the financial pressure of staying in a job you hate because you need the money.' 'The great resignation, at its core, is a people shock,' Richardson explains.

Abundant job opportunities, labor shortages and significant pay increases for workers who changed jobs all fed this historic quitting wave - now, however, these dynamics are abating, and the great resignation is looking like 'a thing of the past,' says Nela Richardson, the chief economist at ADP.įewer people are quitting their jobs so far in 2023: In March, the number of quits decreased to about 3.9 million, the lowest level since May 2021, according to the Labor Department's latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey.Īs Richardson sees it, 'the 'big quit' of last year could be easing into the 'big stay.''īut the great resignation, a trend that spawned a million colloquialisms and widespread panic among bosses, isn't driven entirely by economics.

Hughes the shock of the new