There’s not much good to say about the U.S. economy today, with out-of-control inflation eroding household incomes and Americans bracing for a recession after gross domestic output shrunk in the first half of 2022.
But the labor market is the wildcard.
There are nearly two job openings for every unemployed worker, and half of businesses have job openings they’re unable to fill. Since the start of the pandemic, the working-age population (16+ years) has increased by 4.4 million, yet there are 576,000 fewer people employed today.
