ADP's National Employment Report for October is showing strong job growth of 571,000 jobs, as the USA continues to recover from the pandemic. This follows on a strong September, which showed 523,00 jobs added (revised downwards from an earlier number of 568,000).

The increase in hiring was larger than expected. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast 395,000 roles added.

“The labor market showed renewed momentum last month, with a jump from the third quarter average of385,000 monthly jobs added, marking nearly 5 million job gains this year,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. “Service sector providers led the increase and the goods sector gains were broad based, reporting the strongest reading of the year. Large companies fueled the stronger recovery inOctober, marking the second straight month of impressive growth.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “The job market is revving back up as the Delta wave of the pandemic winds down. Job gains are accelerating across all industries, and especially among large companies. As long as the pandemic remains contained, more big job gains are likely in coming months."

The question to be answered is, what does this mean in the face of the Great Resignation?

4.3 million workers in the United States quit their jobs in August 2021, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The so-called quit rate climbed to 2.9% overall and 3.3% for private-sector employees. Both are the highest figures on record since the government began to keep track in 2000. Half as many had quit during the early stages of the pandemic, when mass-layoffs became common, and the quits rate fell to a seven-year low.

The JOLTS report for September is due out on November 12, and will add more clarity to the question that is this current job market.

The combination of a record number of people quitting and fewer people looking for work compared to pre-pandemic times likely means more struggles ahead for U.S. businesses. They have plenty of demand, but they simply can’t keep up. And this may be an issue of disconnect.

Essentially anywhere you go in the United States right now, you’re going to encounter “help wanted” signs. But just because a bar or restaurant or gas station wants a worker doesn’t mean a worker wants to work for them. The millions of jobs available aren’t necessarily millions of jobs people want.

Candidates continue to list benefits, safety, and the ability to work flexibly as key requirements, even as many employers resist these signals.

“A lot of what people are seeing are low-paying jobs with unpredictable or not-worker-friendly scheduling practices, that don’t come with benefits, don’t come with long-term stability,” Shelly Steward, director of the Future of Work Initiative at the Aspen Institute, told Recode. “And those are not the types of jobs that any worker is eager to take on.”

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