SO HARD TO GET GOOD HELP THESE DAYS

摘要

Even the most indifferent col- lege student comes away from an economics course with this basic understanding of supply and demand: All markets will clear at a certain price. That simple concept holds true even in today's increasingly complex economy, and it is especially relevant to today's labor markets. That's why policymakers at the Federal Reserve will keep in mind their Econ 101 lessons when they set monetary policy this year. As is evident from the December employment data, strains on the labor supply are the greatest they have been in a generation, even as the unrelenting strength in spending by consumers, businesses, and foreigners means that the demand for workers will not let up anytime soon. The result: The price for labor—in this case, wages—is under strong upward pressure.