Report: Quit rate among Florida employees rises slightly, drops nationally

The quit rate in Florida — the number of people who left a job during a given month as a percentage of the number of people employed — is rising, albeit slightly, according to a new report. 

Even so, Florida is essentially in the middle of other states in the country with a quit rate of 2.7%. The report, from HR tech company SelectSoftware Reviews, found that 19 states had a rate between 2.5% and 3%. Florida ranked No. 17, tied with Oklahoma and Alabama at 2.7%. (The report found that 275,000 people in Florida quit or left their jobs in November 2023, up from 268,000 in November 2022.)

The state with the most job quitters is the state furthest from Florida: Alaska, with a quit rate of 3.48%. Montana, at 3.38%; and Wyoming, at 3.33%, are behind The Last Frontier State. Massachusetts, with a 1.43% quit rate and New York, at 1.55%, have lowest number of job quitters — data that goes somewhat against the trends of people fleeing those states in droves, usually to Florida.

Data from the Feb. 1 report, according to SelectSoftware Review, comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Economic Research Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, using the latest four months’ figures (August 2023 to November 2023) and figures from November 2022 and August 2020.

While Florida ticked up, the quit rate nationally is down, falling to 2.2% in November 2023 from 2.7% in November 2022. That 2.2% is the lowest rate nationally since it was 2.1% in August 2020, the report states. 

“There are a variety of factors that could account for the increase in the number of people quitting their jobs in Florida, which diverges from the national trend of the quits rate decreasing,” SelectSoftware Review CEO Phil Strazzulla says in the report. “These include industry-specific challenges in sectors like tourism and hospitality, where economic uncertainties or external factors like natural disasters may prompt workers to seek more stable employment elsewhere. Florida's unique cost of living dynamics, particularly in metropolitan areas such as Miami and Orlando, could be driving individuals to reassess their career options in pursuit of better financial opportunities.”