Also during the US recession, many people had their retirement funds drastically affected (I know several people that saw near a 40% loss) This forced many people nearing retirement age to keep working. Those people are often more senior, and with them staying on, there was no "movement" up the chain, so not many new entry level positions opening up. if they were smart, and did not touch the money, it should be fully recovered now, so we might start seeing some mobility again.