These US Industries are seeing Americans quit Jobs at Record Rates
Americans are still quitting jobs in large numbers, even as the broader labor market has cooled from its 2021 and 2022 peak. The latest federal data shows the heaviest churn remains concentrated in accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance, and retail trade across the U.S.
Accommodation and food service is still leading turnover
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey on June 3, 2025, that accommodation and food services continued to post one of the nation’s highest quit rates. That category includes restaurants, bars, hotels, and related hospitality businesses in every state.
BLS data has consistently shown elevated turnover in this sector since the post-pandemic labor reset in 2021. Workers in food service and lodging often face lower average wages, variable schedules, and physically demanding jobs, according to long-running BLS industry wage and employment data.
The national figures do not identify every city or employer where quits were highest. BLS releases industry-level U.S. data, not a full location-by-location breakdown for restaurant chains, hotel brands, or individual counties.
Health care and retail are also seeing heavy exits
Health care and social assistance remained another major quit-heavy sector in the latest federal release, reflecting continued churn at hospitals, nursing facilities, outpatient centers, and care providers. Retail trade also stayed near the top tier for worker exits, covering employers from big-box stores to grocery and apparel chains.
What is confirmed is the industry pattern at the national level. What is not yet known from the June 2025 JOLTS release is which specific states recorded the sharpest quit rates inside those broad sectors, because BLS does not publish that detail in the monthly national summary.
That matters locally because these industries employ millions of Americans in storefront, service, and bedside roles. According to BLS employment counts, retail, health care, and food service remain among the country’s largest employers by headcount.
Why workers keep leaving and what it means now
The reasons vary by industry, but federal data and outside labor research point to a few common drivers. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and BLS trend data have tied high turnover in service jobs to wage competition, scheduling pressure, burnout, and workers moving between employers for better pay or hours.
In health care, staffing strain has remained a documented issue since the pandemic, especially in direct-care roles. In accommodation, food service, and retail, employers have also faced persistent retention challenges tied to weekend work, shift volatility, and lower average tenure, according to BLS and industry labor reports.
For workers and customers, the practical effect is uneven staffing, frequent hiring, and slower stabilization in some front-line businesses. The June 2025 federal report did not indicate a new nationwide surge in quits, but it did show that a few industries are still carrying much more turnover than the rest of the labor market.
