A record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November while openings remained elevated, highlighting persistent churn in the labor market.

       The Labor Department also reported that employers posted 10.6 million job openings in November, down from 11.1 million in October but still high by historical standards.

       Employers hired 6.7 million people in November, up from 6.5 million in October, the Labor Department reported Tuesday in its monthly Jobs Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.

       Nick Bunker, research director at the Indeed Hiring Lab, noted that quits were high in the low-wage hotel and restaurant industries. “Lots of quits means stronger worker bargaining power which will likely feed into strong wage gains,” he said. “Wage growth was very strong in 2021, and … we might see more of the same in 2022.”

       The job market is rebounding from last year’s brief but intense coronavirus recession. When COVID hit, governments ordered lockdowns, consumers stayed home and many businesses closed or cut hours. Employers slashed more than 22 million jobs in March and April 2020, and the unemployment rate rocketed to 14.8%.

       US companies add most jobs in seven months

       U.S. companies in December added the most jobs in seven months, indicating that more Americans are returning to the labor force and helping employers to fill a near-record number of open positions.

       Businesses’ payrolls grew by 807,000 last month, after a downwardly revised 505,000 gain in November, according to ADP Research Institute data released Wednesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 410,000 rise.