Say Goodbye to the Labor Shortage
Commentary
It was good, or at least fascinating, while it lasted. The labor shortage is ending.
In the entirety of the post-lockdown period, labor markets have been behaving strangely. We’ve seen incredibly low unemployment numbers (3.6 percent) that everyone has known don’t tell the whole story. That figure only calculates people in the market but leaves out everyone else.
Labor participation has been very low, not having recovered from lockdowns either. This has given rise to a whole genre of literature revolving around odd themes. There has been a contest over what phrase best characterizes it:
The Great Resignation
Quiet quitting
The Lost Generation
Mostly there has been a labor shortage that has been something of a solace to those with jobs. Workers have been able to name their price. Employers have been pulling their hair out trying to find warm bodies who are willing to do work. The canonical job portal Indeed.com has been flooded with applicants, but it’s not clear how many are real or how many are just people applying in order to extend unemployment benefits….