Low unemployment can hide a labour crisis. Underemployment is rising, AI is reshaping wages and expectations, monitoring is becoming normal, and engagement is sliding as the employee bargain tightens. Plus The Cut List of major layoffs.

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Sources & Links

Underemployment and insecurity

* https://employerbranding.news/the-rise-of-the-underemployed-the-labour-crisis-hidden-behind-low-unemployment-rates/

* https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/why-underemployment-deserves-attention-even-if-it-voluntary

* https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/modern-worker-trouble

* https://theconversation.com/worried-about-your-job-youre-not-alone-but-there-are-proven-ways-to-ease-job-insecurity-281128

* https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/jobs-men-employment-data-ec4d6d68

* https://www.businessinsider.com/college-grad-landed-full-time-job-unemployment-guilty-2026-5

AI reshaping work, wages, and monitoring

* https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/anthropic-cfo-krishna-rao-says-while-ai-now-writes-90-of-the-companys-code-we-have-hired-a-lot-more-people-because-/articleshow/131092558.cms

* https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/08/cloudflare-says-ai-made-1100-jobs-obsolete-even-as-revenue-hit-a-record-high/

* https://www.indiatoday.in/jobs/story/cloudflare-fires-1100-employees-due-to-ai-use-read-full-memo-here-tchc-2908463-2026-05-08

* https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/07/cloudflare-net-q1-2026-stock-earnings-layoffs.html

* https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ai-layoffs-job-cuts-challenger-report-april-2026/

* https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/10/tech/ai-taking-jobs

* https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/08/this-company-made-headlines-for-its-aggressive-ai-driven-layoffs-citi-says-its-paying-off.html

* https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/05/ai-use-work-employee-monitoring-tech-surveillance.html

* https://news.mit.edu/2026/study-firms-often-use-automation-control-certain-workers-wages-0507

Remote work and productivity

* https://apnews.com/article/remote-work-virtual-office-a90bba3ecff9548a92efa10e3d061c38

* https://www.businessinsider.com/remote-work-driving-us-productivity-boom-stanford-professor-nicholas-bloom-2026-5

* https://theconversation.com/why-keeping-collaborative-remote-work-environment-options-open-is-key-for-business-innovation-281543

* https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/05/11/america-is-experiencing-a-productivity-miracle

* https://www.ft.com/content/8ee0d3ef-9548-422d-8ff1-ebd48ad4b2ca?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Engagement, success, and quitting

* https://www.forbes.com/sites/aparnarae/2026/05/13/employee-engagement-hit-a-10-year-low-the-problem-isnt-people—its-organizational-systems/

* https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/employees-quitting-trends-work-institute-research-center/91340127

* https://www.forbes.com/sites/deloitte/2026/05/13/how-gen-zs-and-millennials-are-redefining-success-at-work/

* https://www.inc.com/bruce-crumley/why-gen-z-is-happier-running-small-businesses-than-working-traditional-jobs/91341108

* https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/fractional-future-work

* https://fortune.com/2026/05/09/companies-abandoning-peanut-butter-raises-future-of-work-american-workers/

* https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/this-ai-startup-is-giving-every-employee-a-10-raise-every-year-without-any-performance-review-2908710-2026-05-08

* https://www.fastcompany.com/91522203/the-end-of-the-always-available-professional-workplace-burnout-boundaries

* https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/dont-get-too-comfortable-your-quality-of-life-depends-on-it-a4440a85

The Cut List

* https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cisco-to-cut-about-4000-jobs-in-ai-focused-restructuring-as-orders-surge

* https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cisco-to-cut-about-4000-jobs-in-ai-focused-restructuring-as-orders-surge-200934836.html

* https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/08/cloudflare-says-ai-made-1100-jobs-obsolete-even-as-revenue-hit-a-record-high/

* https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-linkedin-planning-lay-off-140835735.html

* https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/linkedin-is-planning-lay-off-5-staff-latest-tech-sector-cuts-source-says-2026-05-13/

* https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/paypal-to-lay-off-thousands-as-company-ceo-wants-to-spend-more-on-technology-tells-investors-first-we-will-remove-/articleshow/130885435.cms

* https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/11/gm-layoffs.html

* https://www.wired.com/story/meta-layoffs-bad-vibes-mark-zuckerberg-ai/

* https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/articles/100-000-layoffs-later-meta-162613378.html

* https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/meta-us-employees-organize-protest-against-mouse-tracking-tech-2026-05-12/

* https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/walmart-layoffs-relocates-technology-jobs-23bbf322