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The Great Resignation: Not in Washington State

By Rob Smith May 1, 2022

Office envelope pack with text written DEAR BOSS I QUIT, concept of decision making to quit job, leave employment, quit being full time workers, employees hates their jobs and decide to resign.
Office envelope pack with text written DEAR BOSS I QUIT, concept of decision making to quit job, leave employment, quit being full time workers, employees hates their jobs and decide to resign.
Ariya J / Getty

Lots of workers in Georgia and Kentucky apparently dislike their jobs. That’s not the case in Washington state.

In one of those instances where the state wants to be near the bottom, Washington ranks a lowly No. 43 for the percentage of people who quit their jobs during “The Great Resignation.”

Only 2.43% of Washington’s approximately 4 million workers have quit their jobs during the past year, according to a study by personal finance website WalletHub based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Contrast that with Georgia, which holds the dubious No. 1 ranking at 4.8%. Kentucky was right behind at No. 2.

“Some of the workers who exited the labor force might return, especially as stock market values and retirement accounts fall,” says Joshua L. Rosenbloom, professor and department chairperson of economics at Iowa State University. “But they will likely be unable to achieve the same level of earnings as before.”

At 3.7%, Washington state’s unemployment rate is exactly the same as that of the entire U.S. 

The “happiest” workers are in New York, where only 1.91% left the workforce during the past year.

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