Manufacturing News
June 16, 2026
June 16, 2026 · Statewide · Story 3 of 3
Indiana Posts Second-Highest Workforce Quit Rate in the Country
Indiana ranked second in the nation for job resignations during September through December 2025, averaging 91,500 quits per month at a 2.8% resignation rate, trailing only Alaska. The BLS State JOLTS release for December 2025 confirmed Indiana posted the largest single-month increase in quits of any state, up 20,000 month-over-month, and the largest increase in total separations, up 24,000.
When quits and involuntary separations accelerate together, you're looking at structural dislocation, not a confident workforce upgrading jobs uniformly. Indiana's concentration in RV, auto supply, and durable goods manufacturing makes those sectors the highest-risk. For reference: Georgia fell 30,000 quits and Tennessee fell 27,000 in the same month. SK Hynix's CHIPS Act-backed chip packaging facility in West Lafayette, targeting more than 1,000 high-wage jobs by second-half 2028, is entering this labor market at a 1.0 worker-per-opening ratio. At even conservative replacement cost estimates, monthly churn at this scale is a recurring P&L hit. Quantify it for your own facility. Your retention program is a direct operational cost center, and the window to act before that competition arrives is closing.
- For the huddle
What should I do right now about Indiana's workforce resignation rate?
Audit your voluntary turnover rate against what Georgia and Tennessee manufacturers are offering in wage structure and scheduling, and identify the single highest-leverage retention change you can make before SK Hynix begins competing for the same workers in the West Lafayette market by late 2028. Monthly churn at Indiana's current scale is a quantifiable P&L line, treat it as one.
From the brief, June 16, 2026
- Chore-Time / CTB Breaks Ground on 79,000-Square-Foot Milford Expansion
- PECO-Amazon Transmission Deal Exposes the Electricity Capacity Charge Gap Indiana Manufacturers Are Carrying
- Indiana Posts Second-Highest Workforce Quit Rate in the Country
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