2 million unexpected retirements are the bigger issue. It puts a hole in the workforce that will take time to absorb by new entrants – new high school and college graduates. The temporary issue is 1 million people on the sidelines out of fear and the associated vacancies in childcare and eldercare forcing people to stay home. These will unwind when the virus goes endemic.
In the medium term, inflationary pressures on wages will dissipate, especially as robots are implemented for service workers. Creates some high paying jobs too. Big bucks being spent right now on service robots (perhaps I read that here?)
tbergerson
2 years ago
For me the most important number is the percentage of the working age population employed. The participation rate. The labor market is wildly unhealthy when only 61% of employment aged people are employed. And the numbers are even worse if you just look at male employment. Allowing China into the WTO took a worsening trend and amped it up on steroids. There is a general malaise in the country, which is showing up as suicides, depression and drug use and overdoses. It used to be that even uneducated people could get some kind of manual labor and have hope to have a home and a family. Too many have lost that hope. The easiest way to see that numerically is in the participation rate, which is omitted in this article.
Yet there are 11 million jobs sitting empty. Help wanted signs are everywhere. The Trucking industry alone says they have over 80,000 driving jobs available.
That’s why its called work. What has happened to the men in this country? They all want to sit on their butts and do nothing while the women do the work. What a sad state of affairs.