In 2022, we’ve had difficult hurdles to overcome in almost every industry. Many companies have had to lay off employees as an unfortunate result.

But what might be more surprising is the growing number of people quitting per month in the transportation, construction, mining, and logging industries.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a study conducted by SmallPDF, between August 2021 to August 2022, the average quit rate per month in those industries increased by over 2%.

As or the monthly average quit levels for the year of 2022:

• Mining and logging is at 199,400 per month.

• Construction is at 212,600 per month.

• Transportation, warehousing, and utilities is at 14,400 per month.

Why Are People Quitting?

Industries such as construction, transportation, and mining can be long, grueling, and even lonely. It’s expected to have people quit those jobs in search of something different. But from the past year, the quitting levels have been staggering.

In fact, the transportation, warehousing, and utilities industry is in the top five industries with the highest amount of monthly quits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

August 2022’s quit level in that industry was 32,000 employees higher than August 2021’s level.

There are several reasons people are quitting in these industries other than simply not liking the work.

2 Reasons to Quit 

The first is pay. In the U.S., the average construction worker’s salary is $39,299 a year. Utility workers’ average pay is $30,429 per year, and transportation pay is $43,236.

With the long, back-breaking hours required from these jobs, the pay is not worth it.

The base salaries for these jobs could be one of the main reasons thousands of people are quitting these jobs a month.

The second could be unionizing. A spokesperson for SmallPDF said regarding the study, “The news has been filled with stories about unionizing within companies, striking and more due to wages and treatment issues from employees, and this data highlights which industries are losing the largest part of their workforce.”

Most workers want to be a part of a union. In a study from the University of California Berkley Labor Center, there are two big benefits of unions in the construction industry.

No. 1 — Unionized workers don’t have to rely on higher-rate public assistance programs or benefit protections.

No. 2 — There are no substantial wage differences between employees because of “no bid” requirements for many building projects.

When compared to union and non-union workers, union workers had wages that were 42% higher.

During this time of economic uncertainty, it makes sense workers in the transportation, construction, and mining industries desire jobs with stability and a fair wage.