How labor is changing

Axios - The U.S. unemployment rate has been below 4% for 21 straight months — the longest stretch since the late-1960s, as former Fed economist Claudia Sahm wrote this weekend.The share of prime-age workers (25-54) who are employed is hovering at a 22-year high.With fewer workers available, companies have less leverage over employees — they can't rely on an unlimited pool of labor to keep things running. That's why you're seeing growth in real wages this year. Workers in many fields can demand raises. It also helps explain why offices aren't filled back up with workers. Many of those working remotely have the power to just ... not go back in five days a week. Workers have more power than they ever have," said Catherine Creighton, who worked for decades as a union-side labor lawyer, at a talk about the UAW contract on Monday.  More