The fraud is not hard to see in economic statistics, once you realize it's there.

By the numbers: Before the pandemic, continued unemployment claims — the number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits for two weeks or longer — were counted at 2,152,733. That was one-third of the official number of unemployed Americans, as measured in the monthly household employment survey, which was 6,504,000.

Arizona has been particularly public about the anti-fraud controls in its unemployment office.

By the numbers: Arizona has said that it saw 570,400 initial PUA claims filed in the week ending October 10, 2020. A month later, after hiring ID.me to filter new applications, that number had plunged by 99% to 6,700.

Welcome to a special Axios Capital Deep Dive.

• Last week, when I reported on the astonishing extent of unemployment fraud over the course of the pandemic, I was met with a chorus of both supporters and critics asking for more information on what has been going on.
• So this week, that's what you're getting.

America's labor shortage crisis has been exacerbated by immigration restrictions that have reduced the number of both skilled and unskilled workers.

Between the lines: Most of the labor scarcity blame has been aimed at expanded unemployment benefits, hard-to-find child care and low wages. But there is a fourth leg to the stool.

With more firms adopting remote or hybrid work practices, company-wide retreats are going from boondoggles to a necessity.

Why it matters: The pandemic showed that most white-collar employees can get their work done outside of an office, but a company's culture will wither without occasional face-to-face time.

Meet Chicago-based Frank, a startup with $2 million in VC funding that’s been in beta for the past year, and provides a communication space for employees (no managers allowed) to chat.

Why it matters: It's capitalism building tools to push back on ... capitalism.

Monday was the first day back in the office for Goldman Sachs employees in New York.

Why it matters: The move brings an influx of office workers into lower Manhattan, the second-largest central business district in the country. It also marks a clear inflection point for the finance industry.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Suzanne Clark told me for "Axios on HBO" that she finds the Biden administration "easy to talk to. They're easy to reach. They're professional."

• "But sometimes they give us bad news very efficiently and quickly," she said with a laugh.

The big picture: The chamber, the world’s largest business lobby, is having success under President Biden on promoting infrastructure spending, but opposes his planned tax increases.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Suzanne Clark told me on "Axios on HBO" that the business group was right to endorse vulnerable House Democrats last year, despite the flak that resulted from Republicans.

• Clark, who took over the top job in March, said those House Democrats "had really helped push business's number one priority, which was the free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, over the finish line."
• "All of the Republicans that we work with on tax, on regulation — those people are really, really important to us," she added: "So we have to be willing to have a different coalition on every issue."

The endgame of the pandemic is giving both employers and workers a chance to create a more humane relationship — both in the office and out of it.

The big picture: Companies need workers, but many employees aren't ready to go back to the way things used to be. A hybrid setup could provide the best possible way forward, if both sides are willing to give.