N US labour market bounces back fast

America’s labour market is on the road to recovery. More than 75% of the jobs lost in the pandemic have returned, says The Washington Post. There are still problems: skill mismatches mean there are now acute labour shortages in some industries, even as 8.4 million remain out of work. On current trends the jobs recovery could be complete by the middle of next year. That would be much quicker than the six years it took after the 2007 financial crisis and is more in line with other post-war recoveries. The Great Recession was particularly damaging because it was a “balance sheet recession”, leading to a prolonged period of weak demand as households and businesses focused on repaying debt.