Smile: People Are Quitting Their Jobs

February saw 2 million Americans quit their jobs—the most since November of 2008. And that's a very good sign for the rest of us, the Wall Street Journal notes. Quitting points to confidence in the economy, analysts say: If people don't think they'll be hired elsewhere, they tend to stick to their jobs. More than 3 million people quit their jobs per month before the recession; the figure fell to a record low 1.6 million in September 2009.

Quitting also helps keep the economy "churning," experts say. "For workers who are unemployed, if there’s less churning of jobs, it’s harder to get on the merry-go-round," explains one economist. Indeed, economists recently found that reduced churn—rather than low job-creation—was to blame for 80% of the recession's hiring plunge. Of course, churn only helps if employers seek to fill the newly open positions, a process that's occurring rather slowly, writes Ben Casselman. (More jobs stories.)