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It’s being called “the great resignation.”
Millions of Americans are quitting their jobs, more than 7 million in July and August alone.
People are walking away from work in restaurants, stores, warehouses, education, health care and social assistance.
And while it may seem particular to the past 20 months, a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s actually just an example of employment cycles affected by boom and bust, said Dr. Patricia Pittman, the director of the Health Workforce Research Center at George Washington University.
For example, she said, during past recessions, such as in 2008 and in the late 1990s, health care professionals, such as nurses, remained in place because of job stability. But in boom years, nurses fled to other jobs with better pay and less stress.