I think the shortage is real and a combination of factors: 1) Fewer people are choosing (or able) to work. A lot of parents became stay-at-home parents out of

I think the shortage is real and a combination of factors: 1) Fewer people are choosing (or able) to work. A lot of parents became stay-at-home parents out of necessity due to schools closing, being unable to afford childcare, hating their job, etc. 2) Nearly 1 million extra adults are dead due to Covid. It can be hard to replace an experienced, middle-aged worker, especially in more specialized roles. 3) Employers have not fixed recruiting (as you alluded): they're still filtering out good candidates, paying too little, failing to offer remote options, etc.