Why are Americans quitting their jobs? 5 economic stories to read this week

Aug 5, 2022

economic stories great attrition America gender gap taxation SME

The Great Attrition in America, gender gap in taxation and SME prosperity - these are the latest economic stories. Image: Unsplash/Filip Mishevski

Tom Crowfoot

Writer, Forum Agenda

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This weekly round-up brings you key economic stories from the past seven days.
Top stories: Why Americans are quitting their jobs; The global state of financial inclusion; How to boost remote working productivity; The gender gap in taxation; Why SMEs must cross borders to prosper.

1. Why are Americans quitting their jobs?

Industries are scrambling to fill gaps left by employees voluntarily quitting their jobs across the US. Workers are voluntarily quitting their jobs at a rate 25% higher from December 2019 to May 2022 when compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Research from McKinsey & Company shows that, of employees who quit their jobs from April 2020 to April 2022, 65% chose to avoid returning to the same industry.

A chart showing why Americans are quitting their jobs. economic stories

The reasons for resigning. Image: McKinsey & Company

Learn more about the job market in the United States.

2. 4 things to know about financial inclusion around the world right now

A survey of 125,000 adults in 123 economies has revealed progress on financial inclusion around the world, with 76% of adults reporting having a bank or mobile account, according to the latest World Bank report.

Economic stories: Charts showing how financial inclusion is accelerating around the world.

Financial inclusion is accelerating with more adults having a bank account than before. Image: Findex

Financial inclusion has the potential to lift millions out of poverty - for example, see this research from Kenya.

Discover why financial inclusion is so important and what the barriers are to achieving it.

Discover

What is the Forum doing to improve the global banking system?

The World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network has built a global community of central banks, international organizations and leading blockchain experts to identify and leverage innovations in distributed ledger technologies (DLT) that could help usher in a new age for the global banking system.

We are now helping central banks build, pilot and scale innovative policy frameworks for guiding the implementation of DLT, with a focus on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). DLT has widespread implications for the financial and monetary systems of tomorrow, but decisions about its use require input from multiple sectors in order to realize the technology’s full potential.

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“Over the next four years, we should expect to see many central banks decide whether they will use blockchain and distributed ledger technologies to improve their processes and economic welfare. Given the systemic importance of central bank processes, and the relative freshness of blockchain technology, banks must carefully consider all known and unknown risks to implementation.”

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— Ashley Lannquist, Blockchain and Digital Assets Platform, World Economic Forum

Our Central Banks in the Age of Blockchain community is an initiative of the Platform for Shaping the Future of Technology Governance: Blockchain and Digital Assets.

Read more about our impact, and learn how you can join this first-of-its-kind initiative.

3. These 7 tips can boost your wellbeing and productivity while working from home

Despite the benefits of remote working, research has shown that it can leave employees feeling socially and professionally isolated, less confident than their office-based colleagues, and experiencing increased musculoskeletal pain.

Here are some tips to help you navigate remote working:

Tidy up your office to reduce the cognitive load on your brain
Customise your notifications to reduce 'pings'
Identify your 'restorative spaces'
Ask for feedback from your manager or colleagues

Discover what else you can do to boost your remote working experience.

4. Why we must close the gender gap in taxation

Despite men and women typically being taxed under the same rules, the structure and administration of tax systems can allow gender biases to form. By removing these biases, tax systems can become more equitable and contribute to economic growth by increasing female labor force participation and entrepreneurship.

Have you read?

Caren Grown, Senior Director of Gender at the World Bank, uses case studies from Ethiopa, India and Pakistan to demonstrate how fiscal policy can be a tool for bridging the divide.

Read more to find out how.

5. The digital divide: Why SMEs must cross borders

According to the OECD, between February 2020 and April 2021, 70-80% of SMEs across 32 countries lost up to 50% of their revenue. While many have been able to survive the pandemic, in order to thrive moving forward their success depends upon their ability to improve their digital infrastructure, training and processes.

Expanding across borders with digital trade is an opportunity to build resilience for SMEs around the world, yet they face knowledge gaps and customs complications.

Explore how we can break down the barriers to SME prosperity.

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The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.