On the surface, conditions may seem ripe for a boom in the U.S. labor market.
There are still 5 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic but job openings are near record highs. And hourly pay has risen, in some sectors by more than 10% in a year.
Meanwhile, enhanced federal unemployment benefits ended on Labor Day (or sooner) and kids are largely back in the classroom. Both enhanced jobless pay and distance learning, it was thought, had been roadblocks keeping people from returning to work.
However, that boom hasn't materialized in recent months — at least, not at the rate many expected. Job growth slowed in September after surging in the spring and early summer, and the labor force shrank.
«If you had ever told me we'd have millions of
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