Axios

Labor shortages are plaguing high-stakes sectors like law enforcement, health care and aviation.

Why it matters: Understaffing in some industries can have dire consequences for public health and safety — for example, a shortage of air traffic controllers has led to increase in near-miss airplane collisions, the New York Times recently reported.

Fully remote workers are especially disconnected from their workplaces' "mission and purpose," according to a new Gallup survey released Thursday.

Why it matters: The results adds to a slew of signs in the post-pandemic era — including viral trends like "quiet quitting" to "bare minimum Mondays" — that highlight the growing distance between workers and their employers.

For one day, Barbenheimer stragglers will get a chance to watch the blockbuster movies in theaters at a discount.

The big picture: National Cinema Day returns Sunday, Aug. 27 with $4 movie tickets at 3,000-plus participating theaters nationwide including Regal, AMC and Cinemark.

With more conservative (or as some would say, "sane") startup valuations, it can be a good time to get in at a lower "entry price" as an employee — but it's not exactly a free-for-all all either.

Zooming in: Not only has hiring been down this year compared to 2022, but employee equity packages are down as well, according to equity management software company Carta.

It's been a rough go for the startup industry over the past 18 months — but now can also be a great time for workers to grab a seat on a rocket ship.

Driving the news: Prospect, a startup that's raised $1 million in funding from Construct Capital and angel investors, is building a data-based tool it says can help workers figure out where they're most likely to maximize their equity returns in venture-backed startups.

China finally reopened its economy earlier this year after years of extreme COVID restrictions. So far, it's a giant fizzle — with profound ramifications for the rest of the globe.

Why it matters: China has been a reliable engine powering global growth for three decades, becoming the world's second-largest economy in the process. That engine, for now, looks to have stalled out.

A small pavilion at the Digital Futures exhibition in Shanghai could give a hint as to how AI will make architecture more efficient.

How it works: It's made of cross-laminated timber (CLT), an increasingly popular building material that often substitutes for carbon-intensive concrete, especially in prefabricated buildings.

America's decades-long love affair with homeownership is holding back the economy, hobbling the Federal Reserve, and exacerbating a national housing crisis.

Why it matters: We're stuck here now — at this point there's just too much wealth stored in too many houses for anything to meaningfully change.

A higher share of students at four-year private universities are on financial aid compared to students in public schools, despite more public school students coming from low-income households.

By the numbers: An Axios analysis of IPEDS financial aid data found that the average share of students awarded financial aid in 2021 was 85.3% in four-year private schools, but only 69.4% for students in public schools.