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... Why it matters: It's good news for workers. Layoffs are traumatic life events that can take years to recover from financially.

- - - And it's one reason the labor market has held up better than economists expected after the Federal Reserve started hiking interest rates.

Flashback: When the pandemic hit, employers were quick to fire " laying off many people " more than 13 million in March 2020 alone, the highest number over the past 24 years. (At the height of the Great Recession, the number hit 2.7 million.)

- - - But in the recovery that followed, re-hiring proved daunting.

- - - Worker shortages were widespread in 2022. Remember stores closing early because there weren't enough people to hire? Or long lines and slow service at your favorite restaurants? Hiring bonuses for dishwashers and gas station attendants?

The impact: Many business leaders learned a lesson. And that meant that many employers held on to workers even amid years of rate hikes and endless recession talk in 2023. ...