Job sentiment is a qualitative measure of workers’ confidence in the labor market, and the Job Quits rate—tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)—serves as a quantitative indicator of this sentiment.

It represents the rate at which employees voluntarily leave their jobs and is often interpreted as a sign of the labor market’s health.

A high quits rate usually signifies positive job sentiment, indicating that workers are confident in their ability to find new, potentially better, employment opportunities.

Conversely, a low quits rate may reflect a lack of confidence in finding alternative employment, suggesting potential trouble for the economy.

Recession Signal

A sudden decrease in the quits rate can be a recession signal, indicating that workers are clinging to their current jobs due to uncertainty about finding new ones in a contracting job market.

During economic downturns, job security becomes a priority, and the quits rate tends to fall as a result.

Track this yourself

Job Quits can be found easily on TradingView: https://www.tradingview.com/chart/v7ZG3yMA/?symbol=ECONOMICS%3AUSJQ