Labor markets are a challenge to read consistently, and have been for some time.
On the one hand I have seen and heard numerous bits of anecdotal evidence such as yours--people looking for jobs and not finding them.
At the same time I have seen numerous job notices and adverts of business both large and small hiring, which is difficult to square with individuals' seeming inability to secure employment.
If we take such anecdotal evidences at face value, we are left with the irrational view that people cannot find jobs at the same time that employers cannot find workers--for that to be happening SOMETHING has to be seriously off kilter within labor markets.
Thus my conclusion that labor markets are "toxic" rather than "tight".
The detail is that I have far more friends seeking jobs, than finding them.
Especially in manufacturing.
Some of these folks have moved south and now, even the jobs are drying up.
Labor markets are a challenge to read consistently, and have been for some time.
On the one hand I have seen and heard numerous bits of anecdotal evidence such as yours--people looking for jobs and not finding them.
At the same time I have seen numerous job notices and adverts of business both large and small hiring, which is difficult to square with individuals' seeming inability to secure employment.
If we take such anecdotal evidences at face value, we are left with the irrational view that people cannot find jobs at the same time that employers cannot find workers--for that to be happening SOMETHING has to be seriously off kilter within labor markets.
Thus my conclusion that labor markets are "toxic" rather than "tight".
Labor markets for professional positions are especially toxic if one is unjabbed and wishes to remain that way.