“The Great Resignation,” exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is hurting U.S. economic recovery efforts with many workers leaving their jobs in search of better conditions and benefits, an updated poll from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reveals.

Findings from the polling of 529 people reveal that 53% of those who became unemployed during the pandemic are somewhat active or not active at all in looking for work. Less than half (47%) say they are actively searching for jobs.

Almost two-thirds (65%) of the unemployed responders say they do not expect to be back to work before the new year. Their highest incentives for going back to work would be a $1,000 hiring bonus and more flexible work hours.

The answers regarding what is keeping people out of the workforce are concerns about COVID-19 (29%), prioritizing current health over work (28%), industries are still suffering because of the pandemic (26%) and many have to care for household members (24%).

As of Tuesday, there were 10.4 million unfilled jobs and 7.6 million unemployed in the U.S., many of whom lost their jobs during the pandemic and have not returned to work.

Unemployment claims reported last week were the lowest since 1969, but have since moved up. For the week ending Nov. 27, there were 222,000 unemployment claims. That's up from 194,000 the previous week, the first time since the start of the pandemic, on March 14, 2020, that the number was below 225,000.

The number of continuing unemployment claims was 2,306,353 as of last week. At the current pace of unemployment, and with this most recent poll, many people wonder when or if workers will return to the workforce unless employers are willing to compromise.

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