Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Note: "White-collar core" includes finance, insurance, information, and professional and business services; Chart: Axios Visuals
Usually, when the economy grows, so does employment in the kinds of office jobs that form the backbone of modern corporate life. It hasn't been true lately, and that may solve a key mystery of the 2020s' economy.
The big picture: While overall employment trends have been steady, companies have successfully squeezed more out of a falling number of workers in the sectors that are the major sources of white-collar office jobs.
