More People Are Quitting Their Jobs. How Good of a Sign Is That?

via Freakonomics » Blog by Stephen J. Dubner on 12/5/11

Fact: in September, we put out an hour-long Freakonomics Radio podcast called “The Upside of Quitting.”

Fact: in September, more Americans quit their jobs than in any month since Nov., 2008.

Coincidence?

Actually, it’s not even a coincidence. The podcast was out on Sept. 30; the resignations (2 million of them) covered the month of September.

That said, more resignations would seem to indicate an improving economy. From Time:

According to a recent survey by job-search site Snagajob, 44% of respondents who quit in the past year did so believing they would find a better opportunity elsewhere, up from 31% the year before.

Why, you might wonder, is Time citing Snagajob rather than a government source? And should we believe those numbers?

Here’s what former Labor Secretary Robert Reich told me in an interview for the quit radio episode:

No, the government doesn’t have good data on this. The Bureau of Labor Statistics collects a lot of data as does the Commerce Department on jobs, but it’s very difficult to tell why people quit. That’s a subjective issue. Are you quitting because you hate your job? Are you quitting because you’re forced to leave? Are you quitting because you have a better job possibility? Some people are not completely candid about why they’re quitting to begin with, and it’s just a very murky area. These days when the economy is still bad, struggling to get out of the gravitational pull of the Great Recession, most people who leave their jobs are still not leaving because they have great, wonderful opportunities elsewhere. They are leaving for most of the time, most instances, particularly if they’re in the bottom two-thirds of the wage ladder, they’re leaving because they have no choice, their employer is basically kicking them out.

The fact is that unemployment is starting to drop; some commentators aren’t cheered.

This Store Is Made Out Of 400,000 Strips Of The New York Times

via Refinery29 on 12/5/11

Upon hearing that Aesop's latest Nolita store was built on 400,000 strips of paper— well, actually the paper, New York Times— we feared that someone could easily huff, puff, and blow the place down, leaving hot-spots for high-end skin products one major man down. But upon further investigation, our concern turned into wonderment, as we realized the expert design and construction that went into the project, executed by NYC architect Jeremy Barbour for Tacklebox . The products are displayed in an ingenious marriage of form and function, with a raw aesthetic that stays true to the company and to the architect, who had carried out a similar design for the brand's Grand Central kiosk. Looks like one way to have your store stay in the news is to have the news stay in your store!

Extra-extra: Check out the shots of this insane news-worthy project or swing by the stand-alone in person!

Aesop Nolita, 232 Elizabeth Street (at Prince Street); 212-431-4411

Photos: Courtesy of Tacklebox AESOP-STORE-USA-NOLITA-05

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