~400k documented/authorized workers leave the US labor market through death (55+) or retirement (Boomers, ~4M/year still retiring) every month. Immigration is down, and net migration was likely close to zero or negative in 2025. Unemployment is relatively low, but there is robust evidence of widespread underemployment and it taking 6-12 months for the unemployed to find jobs. My analysis is that companies are reaching for historical ZIRP era returns in a macro with higher rates (which will likely remain higher with the neutral rate closer to 2.5-3%) through "cost efficiency" whenever possible, by offshoring, nearshoring, and avoiding hiring as long as their systems and processes continue to function "good enough."

Deportations have pushed wages up in some examples (Texas healthcare industry) due to employers having to hire authorized workers to replace undocumented workers who would work for lower wages, but I have not seen broad data on this topic, citations welcome.

The economic metrics are masking a brutal worker economy, being held up by labor shortages (but shortages not yet sufficient to improve labor power), AI capital investment, and healthcare jobs (which will remain durable and in demand due to a rapidly aging US population) is my thesis.

> but there is robust evidence of widespread underemployment and it taking 6-12 months for the unemployed to find jobs

A really ignored aspect of this is that gig work is pretty prevalent once someone loses a stable job. This masks the unemployment with underemployment. There were headlines a while back about booming small business registrations as a sign of a booming economy. Turns out it was just a bunch of people registering businesses so that they can DoorDash

Culper Research had a thesis that a material amount of DoorDash gig workers were undocumented, I'm unsure how it panned out. I agree gig work platforms are a contributing factor to masking economy health indicators as well as underemployment.

We are short DoorDash, Inc - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45690430 - October 2025

DoorDash: Unauthorized Dasher “Backdooring” Scheme Props Up Delivery Operations, Undermines Safety, and Unravels as Immigration Enforcement Widens - https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/cc91fda7-4669-4d1b-81ce-a0b... - October 23rd, 2025

Deportations are down from my understanding. Most people think deportations are up due to the “shock and awe” ice operations. The current administration, as with prior administrations, has no intentions of actually reducing the amount of cheap labor whether they are undocumented or not.

The main impact is from fewer workers entering the country clandestinely from Mexico due to the current administration’s enforcement of the border and the general impression of immigrants being treated poorly by administration. Illegal border crossings are now at a 50 year low.

In terms of just the US part of what's going on, this sounds very accurate.

I don't really think retiring boomers play the same role in the economy. I think a ~3 million immigrant gap is pretty significant: https://theworlddata.com/net-migration-statistics-in-us/

because the jobs they do enable a lot of BS jobs, go unfilled and actually need to be filled to create other job growth while someone in the labor market for a long time is likely in a comfortable job that will be realized to be unnecessary and already replaced by disruption from newer lower pay equivalents.

(Also GDP is in USD which means it is down 30% in many senses.)

> I don't really think retiring boomers play the same role in the economy.

~3M+ deaths during the pandemic pulled forward a labor supply shock that would've happened more slowly over time, due to structural demographics ("Demographics are destiny", fertility rates never recovered after the 2008 GFC in the US [economic shocks destroy fertility rates], population has been held up with net immigration for the last half decade). Boomers have investments and real estate equity in some cases, Medicare and Social Security in others (with some overlap), and have constant demand for healthcare and other elderly goods and services. They make up almost 20% of the population.

Certainly, there is a bifurcation between undocumented worker jobs (agriculture, high physical labor healthcare, food industry) and documented worker jobs Boomers are retiring from. The latter is relevant for my points on labor market dynamics, the former is distinct because it is unlikely documented workers are going to flow into these low wage, low quality of life jobs without higher wages and worker protections (as one would expect). You see this with employers and farmers complaining there are no workers for them.

The data shows older workers are absolutely playing a material part in the economy, both as consumers and workers.

Over 65? Congratulations, You Own the Economy - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47065194 - February 2026

Seven economic facts about prime-age labor force participation - https://www.brookings.edu/articles/seven-economic-facts-abou... - July 1st, 2025

New Research of U.S. Labor Force Participation and Employment Finds Shrinking Prime-Age Worker Population Being Filled by Older Workers - https://www.ebri.org/content/new-research-of-u.s.-labor-forc... - August 23rd, 2024

Are Older Workers Propping Up The U.S. Economy? - https://seekingalpha.com/article/4531829-older-workers-propp... | https://archive.today/sKeyE - August 9th, 2022

> There are now 20 million more 55+ employed than there were in 2000. The 55+ population increased by 42 million (from 57 million in 2000 to 99 million today [2022]), a 74% increase. Total employment in the age cohort increased by 113%.

This data supports my viewpoint just as well. Older workers are taking the lower effort higher reward jobs that Americans are healthy enough and happy enough to do. If we go by salaries a bunch of CEOs retiring would be a massive blow to salaries and propping up the US economy. CEO are paid by what the best CEO is worth as no one wants to believe they hire dud CEOs.

There's no explanation to me as to why this years attrition from the labor force is much more meaningful than any other years, but there is a notable loss instead of gain of millions of workers willing and able to do any job instead of any convenient job.

Do sardines cause sharks or do sharks cause sardines? In what sense is the preference for the theory that sardines growth causes shark population growth a lump of labor fallacy?