Laura Ullrich

“But I think now, and more commonly as we go forward, it actually could be labor supply driving some of that. There are two reasons why you might not add jobs in a month: One is there's no demand for workers, the other is there is demand, but there's not enough supply.”

Laura Ullrich · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-08

Ullrich told Fortune that labor supply, not just demand for workers, could now be driving changes in jobs numbers.

“Historically, you've been able to look at jobs numbers like what came out on Friday and say, 'okay, there was a decline in leisure and hospitality. Well, that means there's less demand for those workers,'”

Laura Ullrich · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-08

Ullrich told Fortune that labor supply, not just demand for workers, could now be driving changes in jobs numbers.

“I think when their estimates come out this next year, they'll be even more severe declines, because immigrant workers are both younger than native-born workers, but also have higher labor force participation rates.”

Laura Ullrich · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-08

Ullrich said the Bureau of Labor Statistics' next estimates would likely show steeper declines due to immigrant workers being younger and having higher participation rates.

“I was like, okay, I think we are here with the demographic changes and the share of baby boomers that are leaving the workforce.”

Laura Ullrich · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-08

Ullrich reacted to Powell's remarks by concluding demographic changes and retiring baby boomers were affecting the workforce.

“When we first ran the numbers and saw that we were actually predicting the labor force was going to start declining this year, I was like, 'oh gosh, I don't know,'”

Laura Ullrich · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-08

Ullrich described her reaction when the May Indeed Hiring Lab report projected the labor force would begin shrinking in 2026.