Economic recovery still awaits workers.

The fall was to mark the beginning of the end of the labor shortage that hindered the country’s economic recovery. Extended unemployment benefits were coming to an end. Schools were reopening and freeing many caregivers. Of course, economists and business owners thought a flood of workers would follow.

Instead of, Labor decreased in September. Before the outbreak began, there were five million fewer people working and three million fewer looking for work.

The slow return of workers is causing a headache for the Biden administration, which is relying on a strong economic recovery to give impetus to its political agenda. Forecasters were largely blind to the problem and don’t know how long it will take.

Conservatives have blamed generous unemployment benefits for keeping people at home, but evidence from states that end payments early shows that any effect was small. Progressives say companies can find workers if they offer higher wages, but worker shortages aren’t limited to low-wage industries.

Instead, economists point to a complex, overlapping web of factors, many of which may be slow to reverse.

While the health crisis still makes it difficult or dangerous for some people to work, the savings accumulated during the pandemic have made it easier for others to turn down jobs they don’t want. Psychology may also play a role: Surveys show the pandemic is leading many people to rethink their priorities. And the plethora of vacancies may be motivating some to wait for better offers.

The net result is that for the first time in decades, arguably, those working up and down the income ladder have leverage. And they use it not only to demand higher wages, but also to demand flexible working hours, more generous benefits and better working conditions. Record 4.3 million people quit their jobs mid-shift in August to get better-paying positions down the street in some cases.

“It’s like the whole country is in some kind of union negotiation,” said University of Michigan economist Betsey Stevenson, an adviser to President Barack Obama. “I don’t know who will win in this ongoing bargain right now, but right now it looks like the workers have the upper hand.”