According to the Labor Department release on Tuesday regarding worker productively, workers are getting more done with less people.  The Labor Department statistic indicated that there was an increase of 6.4 percent in goods and services produced compared to the same quarter last year.  The clincher is the total cost of the workforce by employers fell 5.8 percent.  One of the reasons for the decrease in workforce costs was due to massive layoffs over the last year.  So basically workers are getting more done with less people.
This is mainly a statistic of larger entities surveyed by the Department of Labor, but can easily be seen in smaller companies as well.  Businesses just trying to survive were forced into lay-offs, but yet needed production of services or goods to continue.  Therefore workers either stepped up to the plate or were let go.
If the recession is truly ending than does that mean companies will begin hiring back everyone they just let go?  I don't think so. With high unemployment and consumer spending still in check it will be some time till we see the economy bounce back to what it was three years ago.  This may mean more ingenuity by the displaced workers.  Meaning that some may find themselves in alternative industries, careers and maybe even becoming entrepreneurs themselves.