I don't think Schmidt is saying that. I think he's saying there's a specific section of tech where there are different economic conditions at play - he seems perfectly well aware of how the rest of the world is.

And I agree with him. Talk to any startup about how hard it is to hire people and the insane sign-on bonuses/perks/referral bonuses some folks are having to resort to. Or look at the number of LinkedIn messages most people on HN probably get. It's a very small part of the 'big picture' but it definitely exists here in the SF Bay Area.