Millions of American are quitting and starting new jobs at record pace while openings remain at an all-time high, and employers are at a loss over how to solve the talent crisis.
Some 6.7 million people were hired into new jobs in February, according to the Labor Department's latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, with the biggest gains happening in construction.
Hiring outpaced 6.1 million separations for the month, including an elevated 4.4 million people, or 2.9% of the workforce, who quit their job voluntarily. Quits rose across retail trade, durable goods manufacturing and public education workers for the month.
With job openings high and not enough people to fill them, economists say that even more money and flexibility won't stop record turnover, and it could make America's burnout problem worse.
99 million people aren't looking for work
Even though quitting and hiring is happening really fast, the job market isn't pulling people pushed out of the labor force during Covid back in, says Ron Hetrick, senior economist with Emsi Burning Glass, a labor market analytics firm. He tells CNBC Make It the level of churn happening is like "recycling the same workers back and forth without bringing in new people."
The U.S. labor market had 11.3 million job openings in February, with the biggest increases happening in arts, entertainment and recreation; educational services; and federal government. A lot of openings are for in-person jobs, so "we're going to have an imperfect labor market. You won't always have people where they need to be" to fill vacancies, Hetrick says.
Meanwhile, there were>It's not about pay — yet
Employers are scrambling for a solution to reach these tens of millions of Americans, Hetrick says: How do you advertise that you're willing to be flexible in a job to someone who's not actively looking for>A tight job market could make burnout worse
Rucha Vankudre, senior economist at Emsi Burning Glass, says she expects the tight labor market with record churn and openings to continue, unless employers make a drastic decision to cut back their workforce.
But Hetrick says the level of churn during the ongoing Great Resignation could lead to burnout among the people who stay put. "If you're an employer asking workers, 'Hey, I just need you to give a little more until we staff up,' you're now five to six months into doing that."
Productivity has remained high even in industries facing supply chain issues and labor shortages like manufacturing, he adds. Leaders in those sectors should be concerned for the resilience of their strained workforces, Hetrick says: "Can we continue these [business] gains, or do we risk burning people out?"
