So not 5 years in a row?

The reason I ask is because both during my time in blue collar work back in the 90s and early 2000s I would hear from the old timers how hard it was to find good hard workers. People you could depend on to show up and just do good work. I haven't lost touch with these people and they say it's much worse today.

I think your statement is so broad that it's a straw man. As with most narratives this one gets exaggerated but based on my experience it rings true.

I'll add that when you add the immigration aspect American workers suddenly get really defensive. I get it, but incentives are huge and like it or not American workers have it much better than most of the world and there's a reason people risk so much to come here. Hunger is real. I've even seen it in blue collar folks that switch to the tech field. They work harder and complain less.

That's my experience. Not sure it can be quantified but that's one man's experience.

I should add there are many many hard working young people. It's easy to paint with-broad strokes. I think my bottom line is our US culture doesn't seem to value sweat and work ethic as it once did. We discourage and degrade blue collar work and workers. We have for at least two generations and that is a huge part of the issue. Fiat is also a factor. So is diet. So is prosperity. So is moral decline.