What factor contributed to higher wages for laborers after the Black Death?

• A. Labor shortages and rising wages.
• B. Labor surpluses.
• C. Immediate full employment.
• D. Global trade collapsed.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that a shock to population can shrink the available pool of workers, changing the balance of supply and demand in the labor market. After the Black Death, Europe's population plummeted, so there were far fewer laborers to hire. When labor is scarce, employers must compete for workers, which drives wages up. This shift also helps workers gain more bargaining power and can weaken traditional feudal restraints, since people could move and seek better pay. So the rise in wages isn’t about more jobs or more workers; it’s about fewer workers available and higher demand for their labor.

The other options don’t fit as well. A surplus of labor would push wages down, not up. Immediate full employment isn’t accurate for the immediate post-plague period because the number of jobs did not keep pace with the loss of workers. Global trade collapsing could reduce demand in some sectors, but the decisive factor for wages among laborers was the scarcity of workers, not a broad collapse of trade.