Economists are worried we have a frozen labor market. If you’re not sure what that means, visualize a deer frozen in a driver’s headlights. Imagine the average American worker as the deer, and current economic times as the driver’s headlights. When a labor market is frozen, workers are too afraid to make a career move because they’re unsure what the outcome will be. 

The same is true for companies. In a frozen labor market, employers retain the workers they have and start trimming the fat - laying off non-essential workers. They cease searching for new talent because recruiting is costly and they want to limit spending until they’re sure the worst is over and resume normal business operations. In a nutshell, a frozen labor market keeps the employed stuck in a job they may not want while the unemployed are locked out of the job market entirely. 

Before you can think it, the war in Iran isn’t the only cause of our current situation but it didn’t help. AI and the selective hiring involved with the technology contributed, as did the tariffs and price increases, and the crackdown on immigration which, ironically, has caused a reduction in job opportunities for American workers. When employers feel unsettled, employees feel unsettled. This is how a frozen labor market occurs, but what can be done about it? Other than wait and see, nothing really.