The US labour market is looking "precarious", says Hannah Cox. Pandemic policies led to the sharpest economic contraction in US history. Millions have lost their jobs - and yet businesses are struggling to fill positions.
The situation is set to be made worse by a social-media trend calling tor people to quit their jobs- dubbed "The Great Resignation". According to one recruiter, as many as one in four employees plan to quit this autumn after using up their holidays on full pay in the meantime.
Large numbers have come to like working from home and are refusing to head back to the office. Others have used lockdowns to develop new skills or earn money in other ways. Some do not want to work as much.
A large number of job openings gives workers plenty of other options. Employers will have to work hard to attract talent. Nothing wrong with any of that competition is good". Unfortunately, though, these trends are not being fuelled by the market alone, but are the unintended consequence of "big, bad government policies".
It seems unlikely quite so many would be happy staying at home if the government weren't paying them to do so; for example, This was a predictable result of pandemic central planning-expect supply shortages and price rises.
Kris Paterson is a writer for WhatJobs.com
