Friday 5 November 2021

9. Labour shortages

 Labour is now in short supply.  Yet employment is still lower than 2 years ago. This causes endless problems for many businesses. So the question is: where did the workers go?

Paul Krugman, in an opinion in the New York Times, summarizes explanations:

1. Enhanced unemployment benefits during the pandemic provided financial cushion that workers use to search for a better job

2. People are still weary to go to work; also, they may have problems with care for their children

3. A nudge: workers in poor jobs realized how bad their jobs were. And so they quit and look for something better.

Of course these explanations are not mutually exclusive.

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