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There's certainly been low unemployment for the most part, but that's not the issue (though it could exacerbate things if unemployment spiked). It's the fact that the internet has made applying for things (jobs, dating, schools) so much easier, which led to a proliferation of applications. But applications are mostly a zero-sum game, so employers, schools, etc. have responded by ratcheting up expectations.
This could theoretically be solved if the government cracked down on the most abusive practices (like ghosting after a formal job offer) and instituted a well-designed tax to counteract application spam, but that would probably be as unpopular as congestion pricing, so I doubt it would pass in our populist-addled age.
Yes, fully agree. While macroeconomic and cultural changes leading to unemployment and underemployment are real, the big factor I see underlying this whole conversation is that online applications make it possible for 15,000 people to apply for a job, which was never possible before. You can't treat 15,000 people respectfully and humanely. And the surplus of choices creates a sense of decision paralysis, dulling any ability to reason through options while diluting any sense of personal responsibility. There's a reason making most decisions starts by creating a shortlist.
That's why online dating is collapsing, too: a surplus of options leads to a sense of paralysis and lack of moral responsibility. Where before someone would be restricted to the local fare, now someone can see everyone around, and reach out with almost no effort. And what is offered with no effort can be rejected with no effort.
As always, technology is introduced as a liberating option but quickly transmutates into a crushing obligation. The market will extract all value, and will trample over any barrier in order to obtain it.
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