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The so-called nice resignation has turn into the “nice keep.” However consultants say employees aren’t simply staying — they’re “job hugging.”
Job hugging is the act of holding onto a job “for pricey life,” consultants at Korn Ferry, an organizational consulting agency, wrote final week.
The speed at which employees are voluntarily leaving their jobs — often called the quits fee — has hovered round 2% for the reason that begin of the 12 months, in response to information from the U.S. Labor Division’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Outdoors of the preliminary days of the Covid-19 pandemic, ranges have not been that constantly low since early 2016.
The quits fee is a barometer of employees’ perceptions of the broader labor market, mentioned Laura Ullrich, director of financial analysis in North America on the Certainly Hiring Lab. On this case, they could be nervous about getting one other job or aren’t keen about their capacity to seek out one, she mentioned.
The present clinging is a stark distinction from the historic fee of job-hopping that employees exhibited in 2021 and 2022, however consultants say it is sensible given present labor market developments.
The share of jobseekers who’re “not assured in any respect” that there are “loads of jobs” accessible has elevated steadily, to 38% within the second quarter from about 26% three years earlier, in response to a quarterly ballot by ZipRecruiter.
“There’s this stagnation within the labor market, the place the hires, quits and layoff charges are low,” mentioned Ullrich. “There’s simply not a number of motion in any respect.”
‘Uncertainty on the earth’
“There’s fairly a little bit of uncertainty on the earth — financial, political, world — and I feel uncertainty causes individuals to naturally” stay in a holding sample, mentioned Matt Bohn, an government search advisor at Korn Ferry.
He equated the dynamic to skittish buyers who generally sit on the sidelines, ready for an funding alternative.
The job market has additionally progressively cooled amid a regime of upper rates of interest, which makes it extra pricey for companies to borrow cash and increase their operations.
The hiring fee over the previous 12 months or so has plunged to its lowest tempo in additional than a decade (excluding the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic) — that means those that wish to search for a brand new job might have a comparatively robust time discovering one.
Job progress in current months has additionally slowed sharply, which economists level to as proof of a broader financial slowdown. The ratio of job openings per unemployed employee has fallen by about half since peaking at about 2:1 in March 2022; it was roughly 1:1 in June 2025, the newest month of obtainable federal information.
Extra CEOs reported plans to shrink their workforce over the subsequent 12 months than increase it — the primary time that is occurred since 2020, in response to a Convention Board quarterly ballot revealed earlier this month. The shares had been 34% to 27%, respectively.
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Whereas it isn’t inherently unhealthy to remain in a job for a very long time, job “hugging” can pose some dangers for the unwary, consultants mentioned.
For one, they could be sacrificing some earnings progress, since job switchers usually command larger wage progress than those that stay of their present roles, Ullrich mentioned.
For instance, employees who get too snug of their present position might stagnate quite than tackle further accountability or study new expertise, which can influence marketability and profession progress when the labor market improves, Bohn mentioned. Employers may determine such employees are not assembly their efficiency requirements, he added.
Moreover, a scarcity of motion within the job market might make it tougher for brand spanking new entrants like current graduates to seek out work, Ullrich mentioned.
Correction: This text has been up to date to right the timing of the Korn Ferry and Convention Board studies.