I think some folks have their head in the sand with regard to the demographic shift that's happened. First, you finally got some of the younger boomers retiring

I think some folks have their head in the sand with regard to the demographic shift that's happened. First, you finally got some of the younger boomers retiring on time or a bit early. They're flush with cash due to having stuck around with their 401ks and paid off their mortgages. This demographic won't be coming back in sufficient numbers to the work force. Second, the shut downs have forced people to find work where they could as for many their bills didn't pause during that time (barring the rent moratoriums), so folks either started up businesses, side gigs, or whatever they could to pay those bills. Third, many people took the opportunity that the enhanced unemployment benefits offered them to go into more stable industries. I'm sure many code bootcamps saw a marked increase in students. Fourth, some jobs were reshored in the US to tackle the supply chain issue which probably added more jobs than expected. So ultimately, this isn't a one facet problem, it's a multi-faceted problem that comes down to there being fewer people to replace the ones that left the economy (boomers) and this is going to be the new normal for at least a decade I'm guessing. The fact that right wingers refuse to acknowledge this in the US is just... weird. Absolutely weird.