Economic reasons and disputes more often cited for job departures

In 2025, an average of 618,000 employees aged 15 to 75 left their jobs per quarter, compared with 677,000 in 2022. That is a fall of 9 per cent, rounded. CBS counts both employee-initiated and employer-initiated departures. The figures are quarterly averages, not counts of unique individuals over a full year. [1]

A new job or wanting to start their own business remained the most frequently cited reason for leaving. Among employees who left, 37.7 per cent cited this as their main reason, compared with 42.3 per cent in 2022. By contrast, the share citing business-related economic reasons or a workplace dispute rose from 4.9 to 8.1 per cent. That category therefore does not cover only economic problems at the employer. [1]

In the following quarter

Of the employees who, according to CBS, were dismissed for business-related economic reasons in 2025, 53 per cent were not in work in the following quarter. Not everyone in that group was classified as unemployed: 32 per cent were unemployed and 21 per cent were outside the labour force. The figures do not show whether they were without work throughout the intervening period. [1]