Written for the leaders, owners and professionals of the 11 million businesses with between $50,000 and $50 million in revenue.

Remember the Great Resignation back when everybody quit their jobs to seek a higher salary or pursue their dreams? That was fun while it lasted (if you were an employee, not an employer, anyway). However, it’s gone the way of COVID-era trends, like sourdough breadmaking and wiping mail with Lysol.

That’s because job openings are now scarcer — and the quit rate lower — than at any time since early 2021, according to the Labor Department. There are now 8.5 million jobs available vs. 12 million a couple years ago. The average wage increase from switching jobs also fell 9.3% in the past year.

The good news for workers is that layoffs are at their lowest since late 2022. So you might not be able to hop jobs, but at least you probably have one.

Priced out: Young workers struggle to afford cities

Crunchyroll: How copyright-breaking pirates went legit

Kentucky Derby: Two bourbon picks for your mint juleps

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With remote positions vanishing, many businesses want employees back in their home bases: New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and other metros. But home is a lot more expensive than it used to be.

More than half of Gen Z find the cost of living their top barrier to financial success, according to Bank of America. While nearly 3 in 4 have changed their spending habits due to rampant inflation, housing prices are still eating up incomes at historic rates.

And a recent survey of 2,000 16-to-25-year-olds revealed something new: about 1 in 10 unemployed Gen Z workers have turned down a job because they can’t afford to take it. That’s a real issue as Gen Z will comprise 30% of the U.S. workforce by 2030.

While you can’t lower their rent, lowering these other key barriers to employment will help open the doors to a budding new workforce:

• With current gas prices, it’s common to drop nearly $10 per day on a commute (and even public transport is creeping up on that number). Businesses can offer transportation stipends, which are popular with workers, or simply organize an employee carpooling program. Low-income workers could qualify for transportation assistance like free subway fares or taxi vouchers — check with your local officials for guidance.
•  Eating lunch out costs at least $10 per day (we’re already at $100 taken out of a weekly paycheck between commuting and sandwiches). No wonder 72% of Gen Z says a cafeteria would make them more likely to accept a job offer. Even if that’s impractical, providing lunch once per week could go a long way.
•  An employee assistance program can provide access to experts in personal finance matters. Also, through the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, employers can set up (and contribute to) emergency savings accounts for workers linked to existing retirement programs.
•  Collaborate with other local businesses to trade employee discounts. A mutual 10% off goods or services not only saves your workers money and generates SMB community synergy, it brings in new customers to boot.
•  Charging employees for work uniforms is a lot less likely to fly today — it’s also illegal in many states — so you might want to cover the cost of those branded polos.

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Anime streaming service Crunchyroll has over 100 million users (including 11 million paid subscribers, according to the Japan Times), soaking up hits from One Piece to Chainsaw Man. It’s a central player in the $31 billion global anime industry.

That wasn’t the case in 2006 when CEO Kun Gao and his Berkeley-grad buddies created the site to share pirated anime within a niche fan community. Such a legally dubious platform normally would’ve scared away mainstream VCs instead of attracting them (Napster wasn’t exactly beloved in the entertainment biz). However, investors — including the Rockefeller Foundation and former News Corp. president Peter Chernin — recognized the growth potential.

In 2007, Gao and Co. began traveling to Japan to start licensing talks for U.S. anime distribution, and by 2009, Crunchyroll had secured the necessary deals to become a true media company. A decade later, Sony purchased the platform for $1.2 billion, proving that even the saltiest pirates can sail back to legal shores for the right amount of treasure.

• 1932: Twenty-four tourists embarked on the first chartered flight. Today, over 5 million private business flights take to the skies annually. 
• 1948: The Supreme Court forced Paramount to sell its theaters due to a monopoly on the movie biz. (At least someday there would be Paramount+?)
• 1978: The Digital Equipment Corporation sent a commercial email to hundreds of unexpecting recipients, marking the dawn of perhaps the most hated email sales practice: spam.
• 2020: Warren Buffet sold his holdings in four major US airlines: Delta, United, Southwest, and American. Four years later, none of those airlines have recovered to their pre-pandemic days. Never doubt the Oracle!

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This year’s Kentucky Derby is on Saturday, May 4. If you have any cash left after placing your bets, here are a couple drink recs:

Wilderness Trail Wheated Kentucky Bourbon

Wilderness Trail, one of the hottest craft distilleries operating in the bourbon world right now, uses a unique sweet mash fermentation technique to produce friendly and approachable whiskeys. This is despite the higher proof. Notes of caramel corn, toasted pecans, and baking spices make this ideal for drinking neat or in your favorite cocktail.

Fortuna Bourbon

This modern revival of a brand from the past — the late 1800s, to be exact — is a fun way to taste a bourbon from days of yore without a time machine. It offers notes of orange blossoms and cherries, rounded out with caramel, baking spices, and just a little heat from the 102 proof. A sprig of mint will take the edge right off.

Want more “old-fashioned” drinks coverage? Check out b. contributor Aaron Goldfarb’s new book Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits.

Written by Dan Ketchum and Aaron Goldfarb. Comic by John McNamee.