Meet the typical Great Resigner: A Gen Zer working in leisure and hospitality who's comfortable hopping jobs in search of better pay and job security
- Americans are still joining the Great Resignation in high numbers.
- The typical job hopper is young and seeking higher pay and better job security.
The Great Resignation isn't over quite yet.
While fewer Americans are switching jobs than they were a year ago — when quits were at their highest levels since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking them over two decades ago — job-hopping remains more prevalent than it was before the pandemic.
With job openings also well above pre-pandemic levels, the Great Resignation could persist in the months to come. 56% of the workforce is likely to look for a new job over the next 12 months, according to a March YouGov survey of over 2,400 Americans commissioned by Bankrate, up from 51% in 2022.
In some ways, the participants in the Great Resignation — and the rewards of joining it — haven't changed much over the past few years, but in other ways, the landscape has changed considerably.
From age to industry to pay bump, here's the profile of today's typical Great Resigner.
The typical Great Resigner is Gen Z
Young Americans may be new to the workforce, but it hasn't taken long for them to hop aboard the job-switching train.
17% of Gen Zers quit their jobs over the past year, according to the March YouGov survey. That's higher than the 13% of millennials, 7% of Gen Xers and 3% of baby boomers who did the same.
LinkedIn also found that Gen Z was the most restless in their jobs in an early 2022 survey of 5,000 US-based workers.
While quit rates have been elevated in recent years, younger workers quitting their jobs at higher rates than older generations isn't a new phenomenon.
Courtney Grover, 26, told Insider earlier this year that she "hopped from job-to-job" in her early twenties.
"Job-hopping helped me really learn what I like and what I want to do with my life," she said.
They're getting a smaller pay bump than they used to, but more than those who stay in their roles
Workers chasing higher pay at new jobs has been one of the key factors driving the Great Resignation in recent years.
But while job-switchers are still seeing bigger pay bumps on average than those remaining in their roles, these have fallen from pandemic-era highs, according to a May Bank of America analysis of the company's internal data.
Per BofA, pre-pandemic job switchers received a median pay bump of roughly 10%, a figure that rose as high as 20% on average during the height of the Great Resignation in 2021 and 2022. As of April, however, the typical raises for job switchers have fallen to roughly 13%.
But that's still a big enough bump to attract many aspiring job-hoppers. As of May, average hourly wages for US workers rose 4.3% over the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Last year, millennial Lesley Labaraba told Insider that she job-hopped her way to a 39% pay increase across three jobs over the prior two years.
Workers in retail, hospitality, and food services are most likely to quit due to burnout and low pay
US workers might not be quitting their jobs at quite the same levels they were two years ago, but the same industries have continued to drive the Great Resignation.
As of April, accommodation and food services — which includes hotels and restaurants — had the highest quit rate of any industry subset, according to the BLS, though its 4.8% figure was down from 5.8% the prior year. Retail had the second highest quit rate at 3.5%, down from 4.4% in 2022.
Many workers in these industries have cited low pay and burnout as reasons for pursuing new jobs.
In April of 2021, Gen Zer Zanny Steffgen left her job as an assistant general manager at a restaurant to become a freelance writer, she previously told Insider.
"While managing the restaurant, each night I'd felt the weight of being treated like a servant and that all of my efforts at excellent service met just the bare minimum of what was expected," she said. "Now, I feel that my work has real value."
It's not just about pay — job security is a main reason people are still switching jobs
It's not just the prospect of higher pay that is nudging Great Resigners out the door. Many have looked to secure positions with better job security to ride out the uncertain US economy.
Last year, the networking platform Handshake asked roughly 1,400 recent college graduates and current seniors what they were prioritizing in their job searches. 74% said job stability, compared to the less than half that said working for a known company brand or in a fast growing industry were very important to them.
More recently, in the March YouGov survey, 33% of all US workers surveyed said they were worried about their job security. While this was down from the 39% who said the same in 2022, it continues to be a factor motivating job switchers of all ages.
27% of surveyed workers who said they were worried about their job security said they had taken a new job since March of last year, compared to the 19% of workers who said job security wasn't a concern.
While the unemployment rate remains low relative to historic norms, high-profile layoffs over the past year have spooked some Americans.
"Lately, with a lot of people being let go from their jobs, it's opened my eyes to look for a job where I can feel more stable," Gen Zer Giana Gaitan-Naranjo told The New York Times last year.
Workers in Southern states are quitting at the highest rate
Per the BLS, the quits rate in the Southern region of the US was 2.9% as of April. The Northeast, Midwest, and West regions saw quit rates of 1.8%, 2.3%, and 2.3% respectively.
High job openings is likely a key factor keeping the South's quits rate elevated. Georgia and Lousiana, for instance, have among the highest job openings rates in the US.
A year ago, the South edged out the Midwest with a quits rate of 3.2% vs 3.1%.
Popular Right Now
Advertisement