Otoh unemployment could be artificially low right now due to covid. You had a period of job loss and high unemployment, but along side that you had a period of

Otoh unemployment could be artificially low right now due to covid. You had a period of job loss and high unemployment, but along side that you had a period of lower than normal immigration. Meaning the total workers employed today, and in some hypothetical scenario where covid didnt happen and immigration kept pace, could very well be the same. Just with the former unemployment would be low and unemployment would be higher, but the same “pre recession jobs contraction” could be happening.