Mitchell Hartman

So we've fallen behind the pre-pandemic trend, right?

Not exactly, says Harvard economist Jason Furman.

Here's how the math works.

In the five years before the pandemic, unemployment fell from 5.5% to 3.5%.

But no one expected the economy to keep adding jobs at the same rip-roaring pace over the next five years, which would have meant unemployment falling to like 1.5%, which economists will tell you pretty much can't happen.

What did happen, despite the pandemic, is job creation surged ahead of expectations.

There's been a huge flow of immigrants into the country.

Filling open jobs, generating new ones.

The pandemic also brought big changes in how we work, says Jane Oates at Working Nation.

Mi nombre es Gerard Doyle.

Soy el gerente de país en los Estados Unidos de Manpower Group.

Doyle empezó a trabajar en la Agencia de Estafamiento y Recrucción Global en 2020.

Había una desventaja con el trabajo remoto en primer lugar, especialmente para las madres que trabajaban, dice Jasmine Tucker en el Centro de Ley de las Naciones Unidas.

Ella tenía un niño de uno y medio en casa cuando la pandemia cayó.

La pandemia también ha agotado el mercado laboral, deshaciendo a la gente de sus trabajos y carreras anteriores.

La quitaría de trabajo y las ofertas de salario inicialmente surgen, como los empleados se desplazan para reemplazar a los empleados.

Because they still face a skills shortage, says Jared Doyle.

And to retain employees, they're trying to prevent worker burnout.

Mental health support, work-life balance, workplace inclusivity has been huge.

Five years after the pandemic disrupted pretty much everything, University of Michigan economist Betsy Stevenson takes a broad view of where we are now.