The externality costs more to maintain than to internalize Across all three companies in Cohort Alpha, the total cost of maintaining the externality (turnover, lost productivity, community degradation, insurance costs) exceeds the cost of internalizing it (wage increases, scheduling changes, care access programs). This pattern — that externalities are not 'free' but are paid in hidden operational costs — is the foundational insight of the Pivot Lab model. Geographic and vertical-specific BLS/FRED data was essential to make this visible.
Across all three companies in Cohort Alpha, the total cost of maintaining the externality (turnover, lost productivity, community degradation, insurance costs) exceeds the cost of internalizing it (wage increases, scheduling changes, care access programs). This pattern — that externalities are not 'free' but are paid in hidden operational costs — is the foundational insight of the Pivot Lab model. Geographic and vertical-specific BLS/FRED data was essential to make this visible.
Freq: 3 75% confidence workforce externality
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Below-median wage positioning as primary driver of perceived labor shortage Across manufacturing firms reporting 'labor shortages,' BLS data consistently shows wages below 40th percentile. The constraint is real but the root cause is compensation, not supply. Pattern frequency: 1 (will increase across cohorts).
Across manufacturing firms reporting 'labor shortages,' BLS data consistently shows wages below 40th percentile. The constraint is real but the root cause is compensation, not supply. Pattern frequency: 1 (will increase across cohorts).
Freq: 1 65% confidence labor
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