Tom Barkin, Essay: A Labor Drought?

“To be sure, the labor market will continue to ebb and flow with the business cycle. Yet it’s time to consider whether our economy is entering a period of — on average — unaccustomed labor scarcity.”

“To sum it up, COVID-19 has caused businesses, governments, and — yes — even economists to reassess their assumptions about the labor market. Increasingly, I fear we are moving to an environment where, over the medium term, labor is considerably scarcer than we are used to. That situation can be managed, as other countries have proven, but it will require innovations by companies and by our public institutions.”