(Bloomberg) --
Robots may replace us eventually, but for now Covid-19 has revealed both how desperate businesses are for workers of the human variety and the broader economic consequences of that desperation. Companies are raising wages to attract talent, which in turn is helping boost inflation, hitting 6.2% in the U.S. last month and currently running at 8.1% in Russia.
Host Stephanie Flanders discusses the labor shortage's potential lasting effects with Jason Furman, a professor of the practice of economic policy at Harvard University and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration. History tells us that many long-term unemployed will see their skills erode, Furman says, leaving them at a competitive disadvantage.
Also on the podcast, Bloomberg reporters on two continents share how and why workers are slow to return to the office, factory and fields. New York-based economics reporter Jill Shah explains the mystery behind the U.S. labor market, which at once has millions of unemployed and as many as 11 million openings. A few of the reasons? Some are waiting to land a remote job while others can't find childcare—and at least a few are trying to make a living trading cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, Moscow-based reporter Áine Quinn finds Russia's labor shortage more easily explained. Many migrant workers from Central Asia left during the pandemic and didn't return, and the nation's high infection and death rates have many Russians staying home.
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