This was true in 2019 as well. We were at 5% unemployment, now we're at 6.1%. Everyone collecting unemployment right now is tracked in that unemployment number.
The idea that we're in some kind of crisis compared to say 2007-2010 is laughable. Despite COVID and our best efforts to fuck up the economy, we're still close to near employment, which is why it is difficult to find workers, because it was already difficult to find workers pre-COVID. We're at the same unemployment rate as we were in 2014 when companies were also having a hard time finding workers.
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Gas prices are not at historic highs by any margin. Gas prices always go up when the economy is going strong. Economies have thermodynamic limits and gas prices are a good expression of that limit.
The housing/construction boom is the big outlier, but easily explained by the fact that most of the city-dwelling professional class is now working remote fully or most of the time, with no plans on going back to the grind. Companies are investing big in expanding their infrastructure to support fully or mostly remote work; both my previous and current provider are in the business of selling those products and building out that infrastructure, and we have projects rolling non-stop right now. The city-dwelling professional class are taking their money and flighting the fuck out of the cities. This has happened multiple times before in history. Great time to own a business in the suburbs or the soon to be suburbs.
The real problem comes down to the fact that income-inequality got huge in the past 20 years and nobody fucking noticed. All those deep pocketed tech and finance people who were leashed to SF and Austin and NY are now being let loose upon the housing market at large, and your average joe making 70-100k a year is suddenly completely outmatched by the buying power of these people with their "2 comma" paychecks flooding into your local housing market.
Inflation is going to be higher than normal for a while but by small margins. 2-3% inflation rising to 5-6% inflation, still within historic margins. The idea that the price of everything is going to skyrocket is absurd.
PS: If you're driving a vehicle that gets less than 30 mpg on the highway you're a fucking idiot.
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