By most measures, the U.S. is at or very close to full employment. The unemployment rate today is 3.6%, the lowest since 1969.
And yet, there is a sense that something is amiss.
Consider the following data points. In a typical full employment economy, this is what you would expect to see:
-- Robust wage growth;
-- Rising consumer confidence;
-- Record employment-to-population;
-- Longer workweeks and more overtime;
-- The chief financial officer survey showing confidence about the future;
-- Rising quit rates as employees aggressively change jobs;
-- Low and falling levels of people marginally attached to labor force;
-- High and rising consumer spending;