Is the so-called ‘Great Resignation’ over?

Over the past few years, generalized demand for talent had led many employees to quit their jobs in search of new, better opportunities. This was especially true in tech, where professionals felt empowered to leave a position that didn’t offer the salary, benefits, and culture they desired.

But Axios recently analyzed data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey and found that the rate of people quitting their jobs dropped to 2.4 percent in April, approaching pre-pandemic levels. “That is just a tick (0.1 percentage point) higher than the quits rate in February 2020—and roughly in line with the average quits rate in 2019,” the publication added. “At the height of the Great Resignation, the overall quits rate most recently peaked at 3 percent in April 2022, when there were roughly 4.5 million quits in a single month.”

This doesn’t mean employees feel chained to their desks. For example, some 42 percent of 2,363 respondents recently told Dice (via LinkedIn poll) that if their company issued a return-to-office mandate, they would quit. Some 45 percent said they’d stick with their current employer only if they had a hybrid work option (i.e., returning to the office just a few days per week). Tech professionals with the right mix of skills and experience know their skills are in demand, and they can find opportunities.

Meanwhile, some 80 percent of respondents told The Muse it was “acceptable to leave a new job before six months if it doesn’t live up to your expectations.” 

The tech unemployment rate climbed slightly to 2.3 percent in April, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data by CompTIA. That’s notably lower than the national unemployment rate of 3.4 percent, and it hints that tech professionals everywhere will continue to have the leverage they need to negotiate with employers. If you work in a particularly specialized field such as data science, cybersecurity, or web design, you could see a significant number of job openings over the next 12 months. Even if the Great Resignation is “over,” you still have the ability to land the job—and benefits—you want.