The Eagle Hill Consulting Employee Retention Index held steady for the third quarter of 2024, decreasing by less than half a point to 104.7 from 105.1 from the previous quarter. While employee attrition rates have been falling this year, the index signaled that more workers could leave their jobs through early 2025 after several quarters of declining attrition.

Notably, in the third quarter of 2024, the index found employee confidence in their organization’s culture and compensation remain strong and hit peaks the last quarter. Employee optimism related to compensation continued to climb, up 1.7 points, while employees’ confidence in their organization and leadership held steady at 104.4. Worker attitudes regarding their workplace culture declined by 2.3 points while optimism around workers’ near-term outlook for the job market saw the largest decline, unraveling gains from the last quarter.

Looking at various demographics, the index found workers who are most likely to stay in their jobs are millennial (113.8), male (110), and baby boomer (106.2) employees. On the flip side, Gen Z (88.3) and female (97.6) employees are more likely to leave.

The index’s findings largely align with new jobs data. The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data for August found that employers backed off in hiring, and more workers are staying in their jobs. JOLTS reported that the number of employees voluntarily quitting their jobs fell to 3.08 million, the lowest level since September 2020. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that employers added 254,000 jobs in September, far more than projected, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked lower, down to 4.1% from 4.2% the month prior. The agency also reported that worker wages increased 0.4% for the month, rising to four percent year over year.

New Jersey has ordered fire restrictions throughout the entire state amid worsening drought and a spike in forest fires. On Oct. 17, New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy issued a Drought Watch, urging residents and businesses to voluntarily conserve water as persistent dry and warmer-than-average conditions continue to stress the state’s water supplies. New Jersey has experienced below-average precipitation during four of the last five months, while at the same time temperatures have remained above average over the same period. Rainfall across New Jersey has been 2 inches to 7 inches below normal over the past 90 days.

As of Oct. 21, New Jersey has experienced 917 fires, including four classified as major fires which burned in excess of 100 acres, NJ.com reported. Fall fire season in New Jersey typically runs from mid-October through mid-November, but it ramped up earlier than usual this year because of the long stretches of warm and extremely dry weather.

Additionally, this fall the Southwest has been dealing with unseasonably warm temperatures 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit above average, NBC News reported. Phoenix on Tuesday snapped a streak of 21 straight days of record-breaking, triple-digit highs from Sept. 24 to Oct. 19. This summer was already the hottest on record in Phoenix, and 2024 is likely to end up as the warmest year in the city’s recorded history.

Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located, confirmed 429 heat-related deaths as of Oct. 19, with 241 more under investigation, according to county records. Last year, the county reported a record high 645 heat-related deaths.

The heat is finally expected to break for the rest of Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico heading into the weekend, as a cold front brings cooler conditions. Heat waves are expected to start earlier in the year and last later because of climate change, but Phoenix’s streak still surprised scientists.

The Weather Channel also reported this October has been one of the driest for dozens of cities as no measurable rain has been recorded in parts of the East and South for the month. For October, the only U.S. areas that have seen a soaking east of the Rockies are Florida from Hurricane Milton, which made landfall Oct. 9; Roswell, New Mexico, which saw major flooding from nearly 6 inches of record rainfall last weekend, and parts of the Pacific Northwest.