‘There is most likely some interplay between the weak capital spending numbers and the weak job market of the last few years; there is less incentive to spend money on productivity-enhancing equipment when labor is cheap.” This recent musing by Neil Irwin of The New York Times was his reflection on the current mix of low productivity, low business investment, and low wages.

It seems counterintuitive to many, but it speaks to the paradox in today’s labor market in which employers are “stuck” with an inability to find the workers they want while the job market—especially in manufacturing—is crying out for skilled workers.

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