I'm assuming your company isn't hiring because, like so many medium-large corporations, legacy products that require maintenance are driving the vast majority o

I'm assuming your company isn't hiring because, like so many medium-large corporations, legacy products that require maintenance are driving the vast majority of revenue, and there is no need for new (American - read: expensive) talent to maintain these products. The company can save costs by maintaining these products with a smaller core SW maintenance team and/or doing integration/development overseas. In many software/services-based orgs, salaries/benefits/pensions etc. can add up to 50-60% of costs. If revenue isn't growing or the company doesn't need "premium" American talent, many (especially large orgs) will set up fake open positions, reject candidates while looking like they are searching, and instead put a hold on hiring, hire H1Bs, or hire overseas. Just my 2c/observations, may or may not extrapolate out. But gives me a rational framework to explain why unemployment is low (labor market is "tight") and yet employees have little bargaining power and fewer and fewer profits accrue to labor vs. capital. Edit: Just saw this article about IBM laying off expensive employees on the front page, which fits neatly into this framework - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-17/ibm-is-being-sued-for-age-discrimination-after-firing-thousands https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-17/ibm-is-be...