Jun 11, 2019 - Economy & Business

U.S. quits rate hits a record plateau

Expand chart

Data: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; Chart: Axios Visuals

The U.S. quits rate has remained unchanged for the longest period on record. For 10 straight months, from June 2018 to April, the quit rate has been 2.3%.

The big picture: The high quit rate — the measure of Americans who voluntarily leave their jobs as a percentage of total employment — is an indicator of a strong economy, and it's been holding at a 15-year high and the second highest rate since the government began tracking the data in 2000.

The intrigue: The plateauing rate is a strange and potentially worrisome development as U.S. jobs growth has stalled its torrid pace.

However, the last time the quit rate plateaued, from April through November 2016, it picked up again setting the pace for the current highs.

Go deeper: The U.S. quit rate is strangely steady

Go deeper

Axios

Updated 42 mins ago - Health

World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it's too early to say whether next month's elections will be postponed after she announced Tuesday four people had tested positive for COVID-19 after no local cases for 102 days.

Zoom in: NZ's most populous city, Auckland, has gone on lockdown for 72 hours and the rest of the country is under lesser restrictions.

Go deeper (2 min. read)

Axios

Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8 p.m. ET: 20,188,678 — Total deaths: 738,668 — Total recoveries: 12,452,126 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8 p.m. ET: 5,138,850 — Total deaths: 164,480 — Total recoveries: 1,714,960 — Total tests: 63,252,257 — Map.
States: Georgia reports 137 coronavirus deaths, setting new daily record — Florida reports another daily record for deaths.
Health care: Trump administration buys 100 million doses of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine.
Business: Moderna reveals it may not hold patent rights for vaccine.
Sports: Big Ten scraps fall football season.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)

Rashaan Ayesh

3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Voters cast ballots in Minnesota, Georgia, Connecticut, Wisconsin and Vermont

Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Primary elections are being held on Tuesday in Minnesota, Georgia, Connecticut, Vermont and Wisconsin.

The big picture: Georgia and Wisconsin both struggled to hold primaries during the coronavirus pandemic, but are doing so again — testing their voting systems ahead of the general election. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is facing a strong challenger as she fights for her political career. In Georgia, a Republican primary runoff pits a QAnon supporter against a hardline conservative.