Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal documented how workers are quitting their jobs in droves to become their own bosses.

Here’s some of what they reported:

There are now 9.44 million unincorporated self-employed workers—up over 500,000 since the start of the pandemic.

There were 4.54 million new federal tax-identification numbers registered between January and October this year—up 56% from the same period in 2019. Almost 70% of these applications report having no plans to hire employees (they plan on being solo entrepreneurs).

The number of people who work for large companies (>1000 employees) has fallen for the first time since 2004 while the number of self-employed has risen to an 11-year high.

In September, US workers resigned from a record 4.4 million traditional jobs.

Why is are some many workers quitting and stepping out on their own?

People are looking for more flexibility, anxious about covid exposure, upset about vaccine mandates, and disenchanted with pre-pandemic office life.

This self-employment trend is advantageous to the real estate industry for two reasons.

There are more talented individuals willing to consider working under the real estate independent contractor model than any time in the previous decade.

These entrepreneurs bring knowledge from other industries to real estate. This knowledge is an important source of innovation that will equip you to better compete with the outside entities who have entered the real estate industry in recent years.

It’s a great time to be hiring if you can recognize the trends and operate like a professional talent manager.