I QUIT!' Is Currently Outpacing 'YOU'RE FIRED!

Earlier today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its July Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) results.

The JOLTS report offers additional insight into the labor market that we can't get from the employment situation report, aka the jobs report.

One interesting stat is the quit rate.

"Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by employees," said the BLS. "Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers' willingness or ability to leave jobs."

A rising quit rate is understood to reflect increasing confidence among the workforce.

According to the new JOLTS report, quits are outpacing layoffs and discharges combined.

"The number of quits has exceeded the number of layoffs and discharges for most of the 12-year JOLTS history," noted the BLS. "During the latest recession, this relationship changed as layoffs and discharges outnumbered quits from November 2008 through March 2010."

• "In July 2013, there were 2.3 million quits, still well below the 2.9 million quits in December 2007, the first month of the recession."
• "The total number of nonfarm layoffs and discharges was 1.5 million in July, down from a peak of 2.6 million in January 2009."