There’s been a lot of debate about the record number of Americans who have been quitting their jobs as the country moves past the worst of the economically crippling Covid-19 pandemic. Nearly four million people walked away from their jobs in April alone.
Some argue that the so-called “Great Resignation” can be blamed on emergency pandemic relief that’s been too generous, encouraging workers to live on the dole for a while instead of laboring at poorly paying jobs. Others point to how the pandemic led many Americans to consider the value of the work they’ve been doing. Almost certainly many Americans simply waited out the pandemic before quitting jobs they had planned to quit anyway in search of higher wages, better benefits, and more flexibility — especially in low-paying hourly jobs in the services industries. (These are the worst jobs in America.)
But while many employers are struggling to recruit and retain workers, and even offering signing bonuses and increased hourly wages, many others are still laying off, firing, or furloughing employees temporarily or permanently — albeit at lower rates than they did a year ago. (On the other hand, these are American cities that added jobs during the pandemic.)
Click here to see the industries laying off the most workers.
What industries are laying off the most workers these days? To find out, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the rate and total number of layoffs and discharges across 19 key industry categories. Figures are for the month of May, 2021, the most recent month for which data is available. Parallel numbers are given for May 2020 for comparison.
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19. Finance and insurance
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.20% (total: 15,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 6,539,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 0.30%
> Total employment in May 2020: 6,474,300
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18. Federal
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.20% (total: 5,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 2,881,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 0.80%
> Total employment in May 2020: 2,877,000
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17. State and local, excluding education
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.20% (total: 18,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 8,956,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 0.60%
> Total employment in May 2020: 8,814,000
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16. State and local education
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.50% (total: 52,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 9,816,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.30%
> Total employment in May 2020: 9,620,000
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15. Health care and social assistance
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.60% (total: 113,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 19,993,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.20%
> Total employment in May 2020: 18,835,800
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14. Wholesale trade
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.70% (total: 42,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 5,681,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.90%
> Total employment in May 2020: 5,508,000
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13. Retail trade
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.70% (total: 108,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 15,239,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.20%
> Total employment in May 2020: 13,644,100
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12. Educational services
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.70% (total: 24,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 3,484,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 2.10%
> Total employment in May 2020: 3,271,500
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11. Durable goods manufacturing
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.80% (total: 62,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 7,640,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.20%
> Total employment in May 2020: 7,201,000
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10. Transportation, warehousing, and utilities
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.80% (total: 47,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 6,257,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.80%
> Total employment in May 2020: 5,781,000
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9. Information
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.80% (total: 23,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 2,736,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.40%
> Total employment in May 2020: 2,594,000
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8. Accommodation and food services
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.80% (total: 105,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 12,421,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.50%
> Total employment in May 2020: 8,922,100
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7. Real estate and rental and leasing
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.90% (total: 19,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 2,262,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.60%
> Total employment in May 2020: 2,138,800
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6. Nondurable goods manufacturing
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 1.00% (total: 45,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 4,663,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.30%
> Total employment in May 2020: 4,456,000
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5. Other services
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 1.00% (total: 55,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 5,584,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.70%
> Total employment in May 2020: 4,777,000
Note: Workers employed in this industry are engaged in activities not easily classified in other sectors. Included are such jobs as equipment and machinery repairing, promoting or administering religious activities, grantmaking, advocacy, and providing drycleaning and laundry services, personal care services, death care services, pet care services, photofinishing services, temporary parking services, and dating services.
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4. Arts, entertainment, and recreation
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 1.10% (total: 23,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 1,969,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 3.50%
> Total employment in May 2020: 1,224,100
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3. Mining and logging
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 1.20% (total: 7,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 618,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 3.10%
> Total employment in May 2020: 601,000
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2. Professional and business services
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 1.40% (total: 290,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 20,746,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 2.40%
> Total employment in May 2020: 19,247,000
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1. Construction
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 1.80% (total: 138,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 7,417,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 2.50%
> Total employment in May 2020: 7,004,000
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