A remote corner of the U.S. might offer insight into how companies can work with the labor market they’ve got.

Here’s what that could mean for the labor market — and inflation.

Labor force participation for 20- to 24-year-olds is lagging. Zoomers whose educations were interrupted by the pandemic are still catching up.

The jobless rate for young workers has jumped since late 2021 and loan repayment is back on the table. Soon-to-be grads are scrambling.

In “Moving the Needle: What Tight Labor Markets Do for the Poor,” authors Newman and Jacobs advocate letting tight labor markets stay that way.

Apple is the latest big employer to announce it’s hiking hourly pay. The market for in-person work is especially competitive.

That was down slightly from September, but still high. Some say watch that figure to know what will happen to the economy in 2022.

“Clean slate” laws call for updating court databases and creating algorithms to automatically clear records for minor offenses.

Higher costs for labor and supplies are increasing price tags.

“We’re not there yet,” said Kurt Loudenback, CEO of Grand Prairie Foods. “But we feel pretty optimistic about 2021.”