Hang on to Your People — Americans Are Quitting Their Jobs in Droves

But things aren’t all bad.

Finding and keeping good people is a challenge for business owners — and it’s getting tougher.

The number of Americans quitting their jobs hit a 16-year high in January, Yahoo Finance reports. The rate was 2.2 percent, which amounted to a seasonally adjusted total of just over 3.2 million.

That’s bad if you’re a business owner who doesn’t relish the thought of having to replace valuable workers. But it’s potentially a good sign for the economy overall, as workers are “unlikely to quit a job unless they are confident they can get another one,” Yahoo notes.

The data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Several other recent reports have also suggested a positive outlook for the U.S. economy. For example, the National Federation of Independent Business found high levels of optimism among small business owners.

Read more at Yahoo Finance