Oil prices are higher in volatile trading this morning following a sharp drop yesterday, as the market contemplates whether major producers would boost supply to help plug the gap in output from Russia. Crude is up 5%, to about $114 a barrel. Comments from the United Arab Emirates energy minister and the country's ambassador to Washington are sending conflicting signals.
The Great Resignation continues. Nearly 4.3 million people quit their jobs in January, a slight monthly decline but still near the record level set in November.
The elevated level in early 2022 comes off a year in which almost 48 million people quit their jobs, an annual record. Economists have pointed to a tight labor market for driving the ‘quit’ rate, but workers themselves blame bad pay, bad opportunities and bad bosses. Job resignations are up 23% from pre-pandemic levels.
