The U.S. economy has added jobs for 100 consecutive months, and unemployment recently touched its lowest level in 49 years, the Wall Street Journal reported. Workers are so scarce that, in many parts of the country, low-skill jobs are being handed out to pretty much anyone willing to take them — and high-skilled workers are in even shorter supply. There are still fault lines: Jobs are still scarce for people living in rural areas of the country. The tight labor market of the moment may also be masking some fundamental shifts in the way we work that will hurt the job prospects of many people later on, especially those who lack advanced degrees and skills. In metro areas with fewer than 100,000 people and in rural America, the average unemployment last year was a half-percentage point higher compared to metro areas with more than a million people, according to analysis by job search site Indeed.com.
