2026 Workforce Labor Economic Forecast
Ron Hetrick's core warning for 2026 is blunt: the skilled-trades shortage isn't a "cycle" that fixes itself—it's a demographic cliff, and the pipeline is still being steered toward four-year degrees. The winners won't be the companies that throw another dollar at wages; they'll be the ones that sell the mission, recruit earlier, and build intentional training paths instead of renting "2-7 years' experience" in the free-agent market.