What on earth is going on in the U.S. labor markets? Demand for goods and services is the strongest in years, and profits are going through the roof. Companies are spending again on new equipment, while starting to restock their depleted inventories. Yet they are not hanging out the "help wanted" signs as they did in earlier economic recoveries. If past business cycles are any guide, by now robust GDP growth―6% in the second half of 2003, with 5% widely expected in the current quarter―should be creating more than 200,000 jobs per month to help restore the 2.7 million positions lost since the recession hit in early 2001.
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