Positive Job Sign: More Workers Switching Positions [AUDIO]

Many see this as a positive in the jobs recovery effort: the number of workers quitting to take a new job is on the rise.

A survey from recruiter, “the MRI network” finds the percentage of job openings due to an employee leaving for another position up to 28 in January from 21 percent last July. Carl Van Horn of the Rutgers Workforce Development Center says that there is always a lot of what he calls, “churn” in the labor market, always openings and people quitting and moving from one job to another. But as the economy improves that churn tends to accelerate also.

And the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, in a February report, showed the number of employees jumping ship has shown a steady rise since its low point in December of 2009. Van Horn tells us when openings increase, part-timers are the first to switch to full-time, followed by the long-term unemployed. Usually those who are seeking to move from the job they have to the one they want are last.

Van Horn says employers are still in the driver’s seat for hiring, but more workers are finding alternative opportunities out there.