There’s been a lot of debate about the record number of Americans who have been quitting their jobs as the country moves past the worst of the economically crippling Covid-19 pandemic. Nearly four million people walked away from their jobs in April alone.
Some argue that the so-called “Great Resignation” can be blamed on emergency pandemic relief that’s been too generous, encouraging workers to live on the dole for a while instead of laboring at poorly paying jobs. Others point to how the pandemic led many Americans to consider the value of the work they’ve been doing. Almost certainly many Americans simply waited out the pandemic before quitting jobs they had planned to quit anyway in search of higher wages, better benefits, and more flexibility — especially in low-paying hourly jobs in the services industries. (These are the worst jobs in America.)
But while many employers are struggling to recruit and retain workers, and even offering signing bonuses and increased hourly wages, many others are still laying off, firing, or furloughing employees temporarily or permanently — albeit at lower rates than they did a year ago. (On the other hand, these are American cities that added jobs during the pandemic.)
Click here to see the industries laying off the most workers.
What industries are laying off the most workers these days? To find out, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the rate and total number of layoffs and discharges across 19 key industry categories. Figures are for the month of May, 2021, the most recent month for which data is available. Parallel numbers are given for May 2020 for comparison.
19. Finance and insurance
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.20% (total: 15,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 6,539,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 0.30%
> Total employment in May 2020: 6,474,300
[in-text-ad]
18. Federal
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.20% (total: 5,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 2,881,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 0.80%
> Total employment in May 2020: 2,877,000
17. State and local, excluding education
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.20% (total: 18,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 8,956,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 0.60%
> Total employment in May 2020: 8,814,000
16. State and local education
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.50% (total: 52,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 9,816,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.30%
> Total employment in May 2020: 9,620,000
[in-text-ad-2]
15. Health care and social assistance
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.60% (total: 113,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 19,993,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.20%
> Total employment in May 2020: 18,835,800
14. Wholesale trade
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.70% (total: 42,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 5,681,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.90%
> Total employment in May 2020: 5,508,000
[in-text-ad]
13. Retail trade
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.70% (total: 108,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 15,239,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.20%
> Total employment in May 2020: 13,644,100
24/7 Wall St.
12. Educational services
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.70% (total: 24,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 3,484,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 2.10%
> Total employment in May 2020: 3,271,500
11. Durable goods manufacturing
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.80% (total: 62,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 7,640,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.20%
> Total employment in May 2020: 7,201,000
[in-text-ad-2]
10. Transportation, warehousing, and utilities
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.80% (total: 47,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 6,257,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.80%
> Total employment in May 2020: 5,781,000
9. Information
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.80% (total: 23,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 2,736,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.40%
> Total employment in May 2020: 2,594,000
[in-text-ad]
8. Accommodation and food services
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.80% (total: 105,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 12,421,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.50%
> Total employment in May 2020: 8,922,100
24/7 Wall St.
7. Real estate and rental and leasing
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 0.90% (total: 19,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 2,262,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.60%
> Total employment in May 2020: 2,138,800
6. Nondurable goods manufacturing
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 1.00% (total: 45,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 4,663,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.30%
> Total employment in May 2020: 4,456,000
[in-text-ad-2]
5. Other services
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 1.00% (total: 55,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 5,584,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 1.70%
> Total employment in May 2020: 4,777,000
Note: Workers employed in this industry are engaged in activities not easily classified in other sectors. Included are such jobs as equipment and machinery repairing, promoting or administering religious activities, grantmaking, advocacy, and providing drycleaning and laundry services, personal care services, death care services, pet care services, photofinishing services, temporary parking services, and dating services.
4. Arts, entertainment, and recreation
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 1.10% (total: 23,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 1,969,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 3.50%
> Total employment in May 2020: 1,224,100
[in-text-ad]
3. Mining and logging
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 1.20% (total: 7,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 618,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 3.10%
> Total employment in May 2020: 601,000
24/7 Wall St.
2. Professional and business services
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 1.40% (total: 290,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 20,746,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 2.40%
> Total employment in May 2020: 19,247,000
1. Construction
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2021: 1.80% (total: 138,000)
> Total employment in May 2021: 7,417,000
> Layoff and discharges rate in May 2020: 2.50%
> Total employment in May 2020: 7,004,000
Cash Back Credit Cards Have Never Been This Good
Credit card companies are at war, handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers. A good cash back card can be worth thousands of dollars a year in free money, not to mention other perks like travel, insurance, and access to fancy lounges. See our top picks for the best credit cards today. You won’t want to miss some of these offers.
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.