The great resignation baffles me. I can't help but wonder where everyone is suddenly getting the money to live. Sure the government way overshared, to put it mild, and that might explain shortages for unskilled labor, but those handouts aren't going to keep skilled workers supported in a middle class lifestyle.
Did a lot of people who are married just decide to revert to one income? I don't get how people are making it without jobs otherwise, especially in the midst of historic inflation.
So, back in 2008, my neighbor was laid off. Wall Street, six figure job. She was obviously upset, and concerned about the future.
I saw her a few months later, asked her how they were doing. She looked at me and said "We are great!" I was surprised.
She explained that he husband still had a job. However, with her now being home, she was no longer:
Paying for the commuter railroad
Paying for parking
Paying for the subway
Paying for the "nicer" clothes, and the dry cleaning
Paying for before care at the school
Paying for after care at the school
Paying the "fine" for not volunteering at the school (our kids were both in a private catholic school)
She was cooking more meals, and spending her time shopping wisely
Of course, they extended unemployment to 99 weeks at that point, so that also helped.
So many other little things as well. When you are constantly on the go, you pay for some of the shortcuts that you take.
I know more than a few people that have resigned in the past two years. About half have taken jobs that are paying more. The other half have scaled back. This is mostly the older people, who either gave up work altogether (they were ready to retire), or have taken less stressful jobs. Perhaps working from home. Perhaps something to just pay for the extras they wanted.
And while 401k values have gone down, home prices have gone up. My father-in-law moved in with us after my mother-in-law died. He seems to be flush with money. While I tease him that his wife was spending alot (and she was), lets also remember, he is no longer paying:
A mortgage
Property tax
The gardener
Water
Electric
Garbage Collection
Cable/Internet
Netflix (he uses ours now)
The only bill he really has is his cell phone bill, and we are probably going to move that to my daughter's plan.