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(snip)Call it the “Take This Job and Shove It” indicator. The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that an increasing number of people are quitting their jobs, a sign of an upturn in consumer confidence and the economy, according to one economist.

“There is one area where there does appear to be some additional risk taking, and that is seen in the number of people leaving their jobs,” said Don Rissmiller, economist for Strategas Research Partners. “The last time we saw an inflection point of this sort in the number of people quitting their jobs, we were at the end of the last ‘jobless recovery’ in 2003.”

In October 2 million individuals quit their jobs, up from 1.7 million during the same month a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On its web site, the BLS states, “Quits tend to rise when there is a perception that another job is available and tend to fall when there is a perception that jobs are scarce.”

The rise in quitting is accompanied by an increase in the job outlook in the latest survey by staffing firm Manpower and an ISM survey of managers indicating bigger capital expenditures planned for next year, Rissmiller points out in his note.

Also, shares of staffing firms, such as Robert Half [RHI 30.17 0.27 (+0.9%) ] and Manpower [MAN 62.88 1.38 (+2.24%) ], are at 52-week highs, hinting that hiring could be picking up.

This data is in sharp contrast to the scare that traders received last week. Employers added just 39,000 workers in November to their payrolls, much less than economists expected, according to the report out on Friday. The unemployment rate increased to 9.8 percent."(snip)


The only real question is whether or not CNBC's conclusion is true that the reason people are quitting their jobs is a perception that 'better job opportunities' are available elsewhere. The 'gold foil hat' crowd would undoubtedly point out that the reason people are quitting their jobs may be related to the types, levels and length of gov't benefits available to the long term unemployed versus the size of their paychecks plus paying for things themselves.