The United States economy saw the gap between job openings and unemployed workers grow wider after a further 4.35 million Americans opted to quit their jobs in February, according to the Labor Department.

On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) which found the overall number of quits were up by 94,000 from January, bringing their percentage of the workforce up slightly to 2.9% from 2.8%.

In terms of the highest quit rates, they was dispersed across several industries. The healthcare sector, already suffering from a shortage of qualified workers, saw 626,000 workers leave their jobs last month. The leisure and hospitality sector recorded 863,000 more quits in February despite reporting some of the strongest hiring numbers for months, according to the payroll processing firm ADP. The retail sector saw 771,000 more workers quit their jobs.

These figures are the latest which show that the “Great Resignation” is continuing in the U.S. economy. The causes are not universally agreed upon, but analysts suggest workers recognize the strong demand for their labor and are actively seeking better-paying jobs or those that provide superior benefits over settling for any position.

The JOLTS survey is considered an important metric used by the Federal Reserve when weighing its decisions on whether or not to hike interest rates. Earlier this month, the Fed raised rates for the first time in years by a quarter of a percentage point and Chairman Jerome Powell promised more aggressive hikes if the situation called for it.

This data arrives days before the U.S. government will release its monthly nonfarm payrolls report.

The Labor Department reported that the number of private payrolls increased by 400,000 in February and the numbers for January were slightly revised to 467,000 new jobs created across the economy.

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