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“Great Resignations” Are Common During Fast Recoveries

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  • Bart Hobijn

Abstract

The record percentage of workers who are quitting their jobs, known as the “Great Resignation,” is not a shift in worker attitudes in the wake of the pandemic. Evidence on which workers are quitting suggests that it reflects the strong rebound of the demand for younger and less-educated workers. Historical data on quits in manufacturing suggest that the current wave is not unusual. Waves of job quits have occurred during all fast recoveries in the postwar period.

Suggested Citation

  • Bart Hobijn, 2022. "“Great Resignations” Are Common During Fast Recoveries," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, vol. 2022(08), pages 1-06, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedfel:93909
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert E. Hall & Marianna Kudlyak, 2021. "Comparing Pandemic Unemployment to Past U.S. Recoveries," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, vol. 2021(33), pages 1-05, November.
    2. Burdett, Kenneth & Mortensen, Dale T, 1998. "Wage Differentials, Employer Size, and Unemployment," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 39(2), pages 257-273, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Armanda Cetrulo & Dario Guarascio & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2024. "Two neglected origins of inequality: hierarchical power and care work," LEM Papers Series 2024/04, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    2. Bart Hobijn & Ayşegül Şahin, 2022. "Missing Workers and Missing Jobs Since the Pandemic," NBER Working Papers 30717, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Ichiro Fukunaga & Kakuho Furukawa & Shunsuke Haba & Yoshihiko Hogen & Yosuke Kido & Tomohiro Okubo & Kotaro Suita & Kosuke Takatomi, 2023. "Wage Developments in Japan: Four Key Issues for the Post-COVID-19 Wage Growth," Bank of Japan Working Paper Series 23-E-4, Bank of Japan.
    4. Giuseppe Varavallo & Giulia Scarpetti & Filippo Barbera, 2023. "The moral economy of the great resignation," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.

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