Are job hoppers better at their jobs?

**Aaron** (0:01)
NPR.

**Adrian Ma** (0:06)
This is The Indicator from Planet Money. I'm Adrian Ma.

**Wailin Wong** (0:08)
And I'm Wayland Wong. And we have arrived at yet another Jobs Friday, the day each month where we check in on the latest jobs numbers and spotlight trends in the labor market.

**Adrian Ma** (0:19)
That's right. And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate remains steady around 4.1% last month, and the economy added 162,000 jobs. Much of that growth came from a surge in hiring at food services and drinking places, which is BLS speak for restaurants and bars.

**Wailin Wong** (0:38)
I am feeling a little whiplash here because a month ago, the jobs report came in a lot weaker than expected. And so this month's numbers are like a welcome surprise.

**Adrian Ma** (0:47)
Yeah, I mean, we're down, we're up.

**Wailin Wong** (0:49)
What is one to do? We should go to a drinking place and discuss.

**Adrian Ma** (0:53)
Right after we record this. That's right. With all the noise in the month-to-month numbers, you know, it can be helpful to step back and consider the longer term trends.

**Wailin Wong** (1:03)
According to the BLS, the rate at which companies are hiring new employees has remained pretty flat the past couple of years. And one measurement called the quits rate shows that people with jobs are not eager to leave them.

**Adrian Ma** (1:16)
But there are exceptions. We call them job hoppers, people who decide to change jobs every few years or even every few months. And while many employers look down on this sort of professional promiscuity, new research suggests there are real benefits for job hoppers and the companies they work for. We'll explain after the break.
Aaron Brachi is 25 years old from Rochester, New York, and Aaron is a self-described job hopper. Let's go through the job hopping era, and just chronologically walk us through.

**Aaron** (1:52)
Oh, God, let me pull up my resume.
I think there's jobs on there that I've completely forgotten about. In 2022, I worked at a halfway house for individuals who were previously incarcerated. While I was getting my master's degree, I was the editor-in-chief for the school's in-house magazine. That was a paid job. After I graduated, I was a robotics instructor at a YMCA. After that, I worked at a bakery. After that, I was a manager at a different bakery.

**Wailin Wong** (2:33)
Aaron has lived so many lives.

**Rebecca Kehoe** (2:37)
Aaron is the fourth scump of Rochester.

**Wailin Wong** (2:38)
Oh my gosh, amazing. Currently, Aaron works as an assistant resident supervisor at a home for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

**Aaron** (2:47)
I feel like I'm actually making people's lives better, like I'm actually helping people.

**Adrian Ma** (2:53)
And while Aaron likes the job, they say they've always got their radar up for better opportunities. When we asked, what's driven them to switch jobs in the past, they said, it's pretty basic.

**Aaron** (3:03)
It's worker appreciation, it's pay. I've said it at a couple of my jobs, I take my praises and raises.
You can say all the words you want, but if my check remains the same, then how much do you really appreciate me?

**Wailin Wong** (3:17)
I take my praises and raises is so catchy.

**Adrian Ma** (3:20)
I was gonna say, that is catchy.

**Wailin Wong** (3:21)
I know. Now, BLS research shows job hopping is common among people in their 20s and 30s, but people of all ages do it. Still, Aaron, who's still in their 20s, does worry their long resume might look bad to potential employers.

**Adrian Ma** (3:35)
Well, good news, Aaron. A recent study suggests job hoppers possess a very special and undervalued skill, and that is adaptability.
Rebecca Kehoe is co-author on that study. She's a professor at Cornell University, where she studies human resources. And she says, whenever you start a new job, there's always a learning curve.

**Rebecca Kehoe** (3:55)
So even if you're familiar with kind of the tasks of the job, I mean, physically, you're in a new building, a new space, but you're working.

**Adrian Ma** (4:02)
You're still trying to figure out where's the bathroom.

**Rebecca Kehoe** (4:04)
Yeah, exactly. There's the basic things like that, and then there's the more nuanced things like, who do I need to know?
How do things work around here? What are kind of the expectations for how I interact with people, how we do things?

**Wailin Wong** (4:17)
Rebecca says this disorientation can last for months. Even if you are doing the same type of job just at a different company, you're not going to be quite as productive as you usually are. Have you had this experience, Adrian?