The employers I've worked at, since about 2002, have had a large pool to pick from, and those looking for a job have gotten less and less of a cut of profits and their benefits have been cut back, fairly consistently (relative to inflation, etc.)

People are still afraid of losing their job. Some people have been under-employed for a long time, now, and are settling for jobs they previously left in distaste. A lot of people feel stuck.

Let me try to rephrase it - there are entrepreneurs, there are people who will accept a lot of risk... and then there are people who feel they cannot move, have a low tolerance for the imagined future pain of being unemployed, worry about the housing market, worry about losing insurance... and when they are unemployed, they stand in line to try to distinguish themselves to the large companies that are nearby, so they can get a stable job.

Heck, I know people with advanced degrees in their fields who have accepted Internships just to have a paycheck.

There's no lack of smart people who will work hard at a stable job, and consider themselves lucky to get an offer for the positions at the companies I've worked at.

If you accept candidates who are not citizens (H-1B), I find it hard to believe that ANY of you have a hard time finding candidates. If you're open to telecommuting, especially.