New York State has lowest quit rate in nation, new numbers show

New data shows that workers in New York State have the lowest job resignation rates in the country.

While the report, based on 2022 data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, doesn’t detail exactly why, local hiring and labor experts said the state’s cost of living, higher minimum wage and availability of remote jobs likely all contribute.

Only 1.8% of New Yorkers left their jobs last year, according to an analysis by personal finance website WalletHub. The quit rate ranked 51st in the nation, edging out Pennsylvania at 2.14%, New Jersey at 2.20%, and Washington, D.C. at 2.06% for the bottom spot.

Workers were at their most restless in the Northwest. The three states with the highest rates of resignation were Alaska at 4.37%, Wyoming at 3.59%, and Montana at 3.58%.

Gregory DeFreitas, Hofstra economics professor and director of the university’s Center for the Study of Labor and Democracy, said that stronger worker protections in New York through unions as well as higher pay rates, even for the jobs that pay the least, likely help explain the state's low quit rates.

New York's minimum wage is $15 downstate and $14.20 upstate.

“The highest turnover is in low-unionization and lower-minimum wage states whereas the lowest turnover states like New York and Hawaii are the two states with the highest unionization,” he said.

Some labor observers on Long Island said that the region’s higher cost of living combined with fears of an economic downturn are likely leading many to stay at jobs they might otherwise leave.

“The cost of living here is high and I think it’s one of the overriding reasons,” said Rob Basso, a consultant for small and medium-sized local businesses.

Additionally, Basso said coming out of the “great resignation” of the last two years, it’s possible that many jobseekers who sought better opportunities have already settled into new positions, perhaps ones with remote working options and other benefits.

“People did find better situations in 2021,” he said. “People found the positions they were looking for and there is less turnover as a result because they are happier now.”

Janis Zamier, director of operations at staffing agency Long Island Temps, said while employers in some sectors have continued to struggle to fill positions, some have become more competitive in their goal of retaining talent.

Zamier said employers, especially those in higher-paid office type sectors, are more likely now to put in-demand workers in “golden handcuffs” by offering assorted sweeteners, whether in pay or more flexible hours, / to dissuade them from walking out the door.

“If you have an employee that says they’re leaving and they’re leaving for higher pay or a shorter commute, some employers are paying them more to stay,” Zamier said. “If you have a position and situation where a person is just leaving for money, it’s like a bidding war.”

Despite that, she said that in lower-paid jobs like warehouse work, many employers are still hesitant to raise wages.

“We still have all those employers that refuse to believe they have to pay more,” she said.