(Bloomberg) -- Amid near-record job openings in the U.S., South and Mountain states like Georgia, Mississippi and Montana are seeing some of the highest rates of workers leaving their jobs.

While so-called quit rates have decreased in half of the states in January from a month earlier, South and Mountain states continue to face elevated levels of resignations, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

These are regions where unemployment rates are among the lowest in the county, and home to cities that have experienced a surge in housing surged during the pandemic. In tight labor markets, workers are leaving to secure a job with better pay, more flexibility or both. Companies have bid up wages, which is contributing to higher-than-average inflation. 

On the bright side for employers, hiring improved in about of half of states too, with Delaware, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah seeing the largest increases in January, the BLS data shows.

Over the last two years, the rate of hires increased in 39 states, were unchanged in two, and fell in nine states. During that period, Delaware, Kentucky, Georgia and Massachusetts saw the biggest improvements.

Meanwhile Washington state, the hiring rate -- the number of hires during the month divided by the number of people who were employed -- was still a full percentage point below its January 2020 levels.

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