Your Evening Briefing: Hoarders Are the Answer to America’s Jobs Riddle

The global economy looks shaky and some of the world’s biggest names are firing thousands of employees. For those workers, there’s little good news right now. But for others who are still employed, there’s a glimmer of hope: Even if there’s a recession in their country, they have a good shot at hanging onto their jobs. Almost three years after Covid-19 hit, companies around the world are still complaining they can’t get the talent they need. They worry labor shortages will outlast not only the pandemic, but any future downturn, too.

It seems deeper forces—including changes in population and immigration—are shrinking the overall pool of workers. All of this means that, despite weakening demand for their goods and services, many businesses are keeping and even adding staff, rather than—as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and others have—terminating them en masse. The strategy of hoarding labor seems to be in contemplation of a coming economic reboot, and the even more competitive job markets that will follow.