I've read other articles that mentioned similar. The main points most rational heads have pointed out: - Telling people to be afraid made them afraid, and they're not returning to work. - Lo wage employers laying everyone off made some reconsider their options. - Older people are retiring because they can't find anything else and/or they are finally just done. - All that extra money gave some time to consider their options. - Some have found that with a little care, a single income is fine. - Some are staying home to take care of families. I believe the thing that gets overlooked the most is that the companies that always had trouble are having more trouble now. Two years ago, a $19-20/hr job for unskilled labor was difficult to find, but now every warehouse and light industry is offering that on a full-time schedule with some benefits. Some companies simply aren't going to be able to compete with that. It's all known as "We're not having trouble finding employees, we just can't replace our slaves."