U.S. accommodation and food services quits rate holds at 3.5% in August
U.S. labor turnover data for August 2026 show workers continue to leave hospitality jobs at a faster pace than in most other industries. The broader nonfarm quits rate remains unchanged at 1.9%, while accommodation and food services posts the highest rate among the sectors highlighted in the latest release.
Highlights
- U.S. total nonfarm quits rate held steady at 1.9% in August 2026, down from 2.0% in August 2025, per BLS data.
- The accommodation and food services sector recorded the highest quits rate at 3.5% in August 2026, maintaining elevated worker turnover.
- Government quits rate remained low at 0.7%, with federal government at 0.5% and state/local government education at 0.7%.
August labor turnover data by industry
As reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total nonfarm quits rate stands at 1.9% in August 2026, unchanged from the previous month. A year earlier, in August 2025, the nonfarm quits rate is 2.0%.The data, drawn from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, show the quits rate in private industry as a whole at 2.1%. Within that group, rates range from 0.9% in real estate and rental and leasing and 1.0% in finance and insurance to 3.0% in retail trade and 3.5% in accommodation and food services.
Government records a quits rate of 0.7% overall. Within that category, the rate is 0.5% in federal government, 0.7% in state and local government education, and 0.8% in state and local government outside education.
Hospitality sector remains above economy-wide level
The accommodation and food services reading leaves that sector well above the overall nonfarm level, underscoring continued worker turnover pressure in a labor-intensive part of the economy. Retail trade also remains elevated, but below hospitality, at 3.0%.BLS says the figures are seasonally adjusted and that data for the most recent month are preliminary. The agency defines quits as voluntary separations initiated by the employee, and its 10-year range for the total nonfarm quits rate runs from lows of 1.5% and 1.7% in April and May 2020 to highs of 3.0% in November 2021 and April 2022.
Our earlier article on Walmart’s expanded health benefits for its U.S. workforce described how the retailer is widening medical coverage during annual enrollment, including 250+ no-cost medications, no-cost specialist evaluations for certain conditions, and additional paid leave support for families. We noted that the move aims to ease household healthcare cost pressures while strengthening retention and competitiveness in the retail labor market.
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