We’re in the age of the Big Quit — and everyone is embracing it. A record number of people are quitting their jobs. In the US, this number reached the highest since the turn of the millennium. Why? The obvious reasons — the ones everyone (including us) have been whining about over and over again — stress, burnout, early retirement, etc. A reluctance to give up working from home has also been cited time and again as a major reason driving people out their company doors. But apparently, there’s more to the Big Quit than meets the eye. The number of people quitting their jobs could also be a barometer for the health of the labor market, writes The Washington Post.

Here at home, unemployment was largely flat in 2Q2021 at 7.3%, improving just 0.1 percentage points from the preceding quarter. But that’s still a huge improvement from 2Q2020, during which the jobless count rose to a two-year high due to the covid-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate hit 9.6% between April and June last year as the partial lockdown of the economy took its toll on the job market.

Is it an economic indicator, or a social phenomenon? The prevailing wisdom says that the fact that employees are willing to risk the security of their current job indicates their confidence in the economy, and that they believe that there are better suited jobs for them out there in the market. The phenomenon is also driven by employees becoming less tolerant to bad work environments with long working hours and poor compensation after the pandemic.

Or are people just lazy? “All this talk about the ‘great resignation’ and the epic labor shortage of 2021 is not hyperbole. People are sorting themselves into conditions that suit them best. And that’s why we’re seeing this huge reshuffling. People are voting with their feet,” labor economist at ZipRecruiter Julia Pollak told the Washington Post.

How has the market been affected? New data released from the Labor Department showed that some 4.3 mn US citizens quit their jobs in August, which is about 2.9% of the US workforce. Those numbers have been on the rise, even as the pandemic’s fourth wave begins to (sort of) cool down. Workers in the food service, accommodation, and retail industries led the quitters, accounting for some 1.4 mn resignations, CNBC reports. The data did not include information on the reasons people quit, or whether they pursued future employment.

But lest we forget why Egyptians quit their jobs: In 2019, bosses were the biggest reason why people quit. No growth potential was the second biggest reason, with entry level employees and employees of family-owned businesses saying this is the primary factor for why they quit. An organization not having systems in place was named as the third highest reason for quitting. Could these reasons be at play today as well?

Employees are more likely to leave their jobs when unemployment is low: When the employment rate is high, it is generally seen as a good time to reevaluate what you really want to do, according to CNBC. A high employment rate means that there are higher chances that people who just quit their jobs will land other jobs faster, as they will face less competition for the openings that do exist.

But this new trend also signals an element of unpredictability: Workers who quit their jobs in the hopes of finding a better suited one could find themselves in need of new skills or training, and could find more difficulty than they anticipated landing their dream job, the WaPo says.

And businesses are struggling, too… Many businesses are struggling with high turnover rates as they try to find ways to fill their vacancies and retain qualified staff, the newspaper says. Some anecdotal evidence, however, suggests that employers are asking for higher qualifications and more experience for entry-level roles, due to the high availability of qualified job-seekers.