Remote + pandemic-driven displacements forced a lot of markets out of equilibrium. A large cohort retired(not just because they got sick, but because the market

Remote + pandemic-driven displacements forced a lot of markets out of equilibrium. A large cohort retired(not just because they got sick, but because the markets started moving very fast) and another cohort traded up to higher wage and skill positions. The shortage in fast food workers was a strong signal of productivity going up. Productivity isn't a direct factor of technologies being available, it's also defined by what pressures businesses are facing. If they see cheap labor and their competitors see cheap labor, they aren't going to make a big capital investment in tech without either the "disruptive 10x" advantage or an external force like regulation or shifting consumer tastes. So we all got a dose of doing things differently and the market's catching up with that now. The Black Death has also been credited by historians with putting Europe on the path to modernity, since it made labor prices rise.