There are so many ways, but the obvious one is getting a job in a different industry. Warehouses and logistics exploded last year when the tourism and hospitality industries essentially stopped.
Don’t forget how much fraud was introduced into the unemployment data last year.
People keep interpreting this as "they're just not working!" whereas the actual answer is much closer to "people have utterly lost their tolerance for terrible bosses, and 'worker shortage' means there's plenty of ability to shop around".
The upgraded unemployment payments might have acted as a sort of UBI that gave those looking to change careers or get a better position time to plan, learn, and complete the long and arduous process. Having a buffer lets people focus on what's important for them and this pandemic gave nearly everyone more time and, for some, the means to safely take the next step.
it's expensive to be jobless. switching jobs with a cushion of safety in the form of stimulus checks and additional motivation of not being paid in the current job anyway is much easier in the sense that there's much less opportunity cost.
