89% of Employees Didn’t Quit In The Past Year, and 3 out of 5 Didn’t Even Consider It

The CareerArc/Harris Poll study reveals that a third of those who considered quitting just haven’t found a suitable job yet

BURBANK, CALIF. – March 17, 2022 – A new U.S. study conducted online by The Harris Poll, among over 900 employed adults on behalf of CareerArc, the only social recruiting platform purpose-built for talent acquisition, reveals that most employed Americans (89%) did not quit their jobs over the last 12 months, and more than three out of five employees (61%) did not even consider it. Key themes from the research included the following:

A third of those who considered quitting just haven’t found a suitable job yet

Among employed adults who considered resigning but stayed with their employer over the last 12 months, the top reason cited for staying was not having found a job that meets their requirements (32%), suggesting employers may see more resignations in the coming months.

Wages increased significantly more for those who took a new job versus those who stayed, and younger workers saw bigger pay increases than their older counterparts

Those who quit and took a new job got a significantly higher salary increase on average (21.1%) vs. those who stayed (8.0%). When breaking down salary increases by age, regardless of job changes, employed adults ages 18-34 are more than twice as likely as those ages 35+ to say they have received a pay increase of 20% or more in the past 12 months (27% vs. 10%).

The gender pay gap persists despite wage increases spurred by the Great Resignation

The report highlights differences among gender and pay in many ways. Two in three employed Americans (66%) received a pay increase in the past 12 months, with 71% of employed men receiving a pay increase as compared to 60% of employed women. Employed women also report smaller pay increases on average than employed men (6.5% vs.12.1%). Employed women who considered resigning but stayed with their employer the past 12 months are more likely than their male counterparts to say they stayed because they haven’t found a new job that meets their requirements yet (44% vs. 24%) suggesting that many women may be patiently searching for that right opportunity before quitting.

Pay is not the top reason employees stay

Many employees have made it clear that they value balance, flexibility, and a good work environment in addition to competitive compensation. Employed adults who say they never considered resigning are significantly more likely than those who did consider resigning to say they stayed with their employer over the past 12 months for the following reasons:

• They like their job (49% vs. 24%)
• Good work-life balance (43% vs. 24%)
• They are satisfied with their salary (40% vs. 27%)
• They like their coworkers (40% vs. 20%)
• Flexible work schedule (35% vs. 25%)
• Good management/leadership (31% vs. 14%)
• Positive company culture/morale (27% vs. 10%)

When taking a look at reasons employees stayed at their current job, women are more likely than men to say a flexible work schedule is among their reasons for staying with their current employer for the past 12 months (40% vs. 26%).

What this means for employers

With the continued decline in the unemployment rate to 3.8% and widespread job growth across industries according to the March 4, 2022 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, it continues to be a candidates’ market. As the Great Resignation slows down, employers need to lean into passive candidate recruiting strategies, including reviewing remote and flex work policies, benchmarking compensation and benefits packages, emphasizing and/or improving company culture, reassessing and adapting their employer brand, and aggressively leveraging these differentiators in all recruitment marketing activities, such as social recruiting, to attract top candidates.

Check out the full report here.

Survey methodology:

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of CareerArc between February 17-22, 2022, among 2,067 adults ages 18+, among whom 924 are employed full-time/part-time. Results were weighted for age within gender, region, race/ethnicity, income, education, and size of household where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact BAM at careerarc@bamtheagency.com.

About The Harris Poll

The Harris Poll is one of the longest-running surveys in the U.S., tracking public opinion, motivations, and social sentiment since 1963. It is now part of Harris Insights & Analytics, a global consulting and market research firm that strives to reveal the authentic values of modern society to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. We work with clients in three primary areas; building twenty-first century corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and earning organic media through public relations research. Our mission is to provide insights and advisory to help leaders make the best decisions possible.

About CareerArc

Founded in 2009, CareerArc has over a decade of experience helping the world’s largest, most exciting brands transform their social media presence into a strategic source of hire. Clients report notable achievements such as a 50% increase in hires, 85% retention rate for candidates hired through the platform, and a per-client average of more than 900 hours of work saved on recruiting each year. CareerArc’s social recruiting software and services give talent acquisition teams the power to communicate their employer brand at scale and drive meaningful brand awareness, affinity, and engagement to achieve their critical hiring demands and recruiting goals. Visit www.CareerArc.com to learn more.