The labor market is upside down. Here’s what CEOs can do about it

This article is reprinted with permission. Read the full commentary in CNN Business Perspectives.

As the managing partner for McKinsey in North America, I talk to CEOs every week, and I keep hearing the same thing across all industries and regions of the United States: we’re in one of the most bewildering labor markets in a generation.

Job openings remain dramatically higher than prepandemic levels. Yet the December unemployment data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that a disproportionate number of minorities, younger workers, and people without four-year degrees remain unemployed.

This mismatch may seem intractable, but I’m optimistic from my conversations with CEOs that today’s business leaders can close this gap and realize a new era of sustainable and inclusive growth. Here are three steps they can take.

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