Dr. Mike Walden, North Carolina Cooperative Extension economist in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State University, responds:

"They really are. In just the past five years, what's called the job turnover rate has increased almost 20 percent, and I think there are several reasons for this. First of all - and this is obvious - there have been big changes in the economy. People know, especially here in North Carolina, whole industries have downsized or almost disappeared, while new ones have become more prominent. So people have been forced, in many cases, to change jobs simply because where they're working no longer exists. Secondly, there's much more competition today in the economy than in the past. We've had deregulation. We've had globalization. So more companies are coming and going, expanding and contracting, and obviously that creates more opportunities for job change. And thirdly, workers today are acquiring more education, sometimes even in the middle of their work life as industries and companies change. And that also allows them to change careers. So you're absolutely right, the average person's going to change jobs several times over their work career."