Commentary Two issues shadow economic prospects today. One is supply chain problems. The other is inflation. A recent report from the Labor Department sheds considerable light on both these matters. The report shows that supply chain interruptions have significantly slowed the pace of the economy’s recovery. Though this strain will likely abate in time and allow the economy to catch up, relief will not arrive as soon as administration officials have suggested. The same Labor Department report suggests that inflation problems will be around for a good deal longer. The impact of shortages shows clearly in the Labor Department statistics. They show that overall business output grew a mere 1.4 percent annual rate during the third quarter, the one most affected by supply chain shortfalls, far below the 8.2 percent rate of advance averaged during the first half of the year. Against this sharp slowdown, hours worked actually accelerated, rising …