Functional unemployment in the US for April stood at 24.3% , contrasting with the 4.2% rate reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to data from the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity. Functional unemployment includes individuals who are underemployed or earn below the poverty line.

Dropbox CEO Drew Houston criticized return-to-office mandates as outdated, comparing them to trying to revive malls and movie theaters, during a recent "Leadership Next" podcast. Houston noted that Dropbox's "virtual first" approach, adopted in 2020, has been successful, allowing remote work for 90% of the year. "We can be a lot less dumb than forcing people back into a car three days a week," Houston says.

Employers can support neurodivergent employees by adopting a neuroaffirmative approach that acknowledges diverse brain functions and actively supports these differences. This approach involves accepting neurodivergence as a reality, assuming positive intent, acknowledging and respecting individual experiences, adapting to diverse needs, advocating for equal opportunities and aligning workplace practices to create inclusive environments.

Employee ownership of companies can pay off for both employees and former owners, writes John Abrams, the founder of Abrams+Angell. "By converting employees to owners and by making the values that matter to us a part of the conversion, we can transform the topography of tomorrow's small business landscape into a rich ecosystem of widespread empowerment and wealth-sharing," Abrams writes.

Artificial intelligence is influencing the skills landscape, with North America emerging as a hub for AI learning, according to Coursera's 2025 Global Skills Report. Enrollment in AI-related courses has surged and 94% of US organizations project significant AI-fueled change to their business by 2030.