During the years of the covid pandemic there was a period known as the "great resignation" where job movements were volatile. The rate of hiring, firing, and quitting was extremely rapid during that time. This was due to large numbers of people quitting their jobs, leaving many vacancies, and ultimately forcing businesses to create incentives, such as signing bonuses and increased salaries, to fill up those positions.
Now we are in a time that some are calling the "big stay", which reflects the idea that we are in a period of very little firing and very little hiring. This is due to people "hoarding" their jobs out of fear of returning to the extreme volatility of the Covid years and not being able to retain jobs/employees.
This has caused the labor market to move like a pendulum. During the pandemic it swung so far to one side that for every worker out of work two job openings were available. It has now swung too far to the other side, which has resulted in not much movement in the job market. This stagnation could be seen as a sign of stability, but it may lead to increased unemployment.
This "big stay" could result in unemployment numbers rising because as more people enter the labor force, they are having a hard time finding jobs due to the lack of openings. Ultimately, this may end up harming the economy due to stagnant movement, decreased competition, and increased unemployment. It would be ideal for the labor market to stop swinging as drastically and return to a less volatile movement. Overall, it can be seen that the labor market has grown stagnant after a period of extreme volatility.
I feel like companies aren’t hiring and firing as frequently anymore because of technological growth and the time and effort it takes to train someone new. Employees who have been in their roles for a long time already understand their responsibilities, and replacing them with someone less experienced could create setbacks. Stability is beneficial not only for employees but also for firms, since having experienced workers provides reliability and peace of mind. It also seems that people are retiring later than in the past, which may limit opportunities for those entering the labor force.
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