The job numbers can readily be understood as the combination of GDP with an accelerating long-term trend towards concentrating economic production in a small portion of the population, and wealth in an even smaller portion. When you combine trends the job numbers are going to look significantly worse than GDP.
Which is similar to saying an increase in labor productivity with the spoils going to businesses that deploy labor saving technology more so than wage earning employees. (if I interpret you correctly)
That is one of several factors at work. Others include changing rapidly norms about what top management can pay themselves, and a shift towards keeping intellectual work here while moving grunt labor offshore.
In short: Do we need a modified definition of recession if our current definition doesn't address the nature of recent recessions?