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.
