It's Cool to Quit Your Job Again

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Adam Martin 1,056 Views Mar 6, 2012

In an economic indicator many of us can use, a report says more people see the employment market as strong enough to quit their crappy, go-nowhere jobs than have in years. This is great news: Quitting a job you hate is one of the most satisfying feelings ever, but as GOOD magazine pointed out last summer, being able to do so is a privilege many of us don't feel we have. Recently, though, more of us feel like we have that privilege.

MSNBC picked up the news out of a Tuesday report from the recruitment firm MRI Network that showed 28 percent of the job openings came from resignation in January 2012, compared with 21 percent in July 2011. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports quitting has been on the rise since December 2009.

The MRI Network findings are all about perception: People quit their jobs because they feel confident enough they'll find a new one. And employers who cut too many jobs at the low end of the recession are starting to feel confident enough in the economy that they're hiring back the workers they cut. The report shows 52 percent of employers reporting more hires using counter-offers in negotiations, and 56 percent saying it's a candidate's market. All of which means more people are starting to take the opportunity they've been craving to reenact that wonderful (NSFW audio) quitting scene from Half Baked. Come on, don't pretend like you haven't thought about doing this:

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