Here are the states where the most Americans quit their jobs in September when a record 4.4 million walked out

• Hawaii, Montana, and Nevada faced the highest rates of workers quitting in September.
• September saw fewer job openings while quits surged to another record high of 4.4 million.

New data shows which states saw the most people quit their jobs in September when a record 4.4 million Americans walked out of work.

Overall, the labor shortage is slowly fading. Job openings dipped to 10.4 million in September, signaling more Americans took jobs that month. But record quits signal the workers are still in an unusual state of flux, and like many aspects of the pandemic recovery, the wave of walkouts is extremely uneven.

Just 15 states saw their quit rates significantly increase, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a Friday report. Another 10 saw their rates significantly decrease. That was enough to push total quits to the fresh record.

Hawaii, Montana, and Nevada saw the highest quits rates in September

Hawaii saw the biggest leap, with its rate surging 3.8 percentage points through September. Montana followed with a 1.5 point gain, while Nevada and New Hampshire notched increases of 1.1 points each.

As far as total quits go, Texas came in with the largest increase of 69,000. Roughly 40,000 workers walked out in California, and Colorado saw 25,000 residents quit. To be sure, all three states are among the most populous in the US, and their quit rates aren't among the country's highest.

Some of the most quit-heavy states in August saw walkouts quickly fade. Kentucky no longer has the country's highest quit rate after a 1.1 percentage point decline in September — the largest decrease that month. South Dakota, Georgia, and Kansas also saw quits slow into the fall.

The data suggests states with smaller populations and fewer metropolitan hubs are still scrambling to stave off quits and revive their pre-crisis labor markets. Recent months have seen businesses raise wages as they rush to attract workers and fill job openings. But where some states are finding it difficult to fill job openings, others are also contending with a wave of resignations.

Reasons for such high quit rates are plentiful. COVID cases are still at elevated levels, and as booster shots come due, some workers might just want to avoid workplaces for their own health. Expensive child care costs could be forcing parents to leave work and shift their attention to their kids. And those in low-paying jobs — particularly in the pandemic-hammered service sector — may be looking for higher pay or better conditions while openings are so plentiful.

Yet the states with the most quits aren't home to the most openings. Openings rates were the highest in Alaska, Georgia, and Massachusetts in September, according to BLS data.

Quit-heavy states Montana and Nevada posted fairly high openings rates of 7.1% and 7.0%, respectively. Yet Hawaii has the country's largest imbalance by far. The Aloha State was home to both the highest quit rate and the lowest openings rate in September, signaling a major gap between workers' plans to stay employed and their hiring prospects.

To be sure, the monthly data is volatile and lags other indicators of US hiring. The October payrolls report showed job growth rebounding as the Delta wave faded, and if the pace holds, it's likely the labor shortage will fade even faster.

Still, the Friday report shows the United States is anything but united in its labor market recovery. While the most populous states are slowly matching workers with jobs, others are enduring unprecedented mismatches between worker demand and employee dissatisfaction.