https://www.vox.com/2019/3/18/18270916/labor-shortage-workers-us
There are lots of job openings in America, but people that are looking for jobs were way more than that. The lower wage jobs, or healthcare related jobs, etc, are the ones that are having shortages. The low-wage workers have the most leverage in the market at the moment.
According to the article the reason why is because more people are starting to go to college, because that usually leads one to acquire a job that pays more than being a server, or a dishwasher, whichever low wage job it is. This would lead to increased wages, which should have been, considering the price levels that has been increasing for the past several years. The companies that require low wage workers than white collars would have to increase the salary to fill up the shortage.
Article suggests an adjustment to immigration policies which may loosen the high regulations towards foreign workers, in order to solve the worker shortage problem. What are your thoughts about this? Should the government revise the immigration policies, or do you think they should raise the minimum wage? (Or some other method?)
3 comments:
I thought this article was very interesting. The lower paying jobs are due for a pay raise and I think that instead of the government raising the minimum wage, these companies should step up and become more competitive. If what they say about the demand for labor is true in this sector, a rise in wages should naturally occur soon if not already. I think it will be interesting to see what the government decides to do, if anything, about this worker shortage and the immigration laws.
Firms may not increase their starting wages if they expect the labor market to loosen in the future. The US is below the natural rate of unemployment and the labor market is very tight right now. Another factor to consider is low wage workers are becoming less productive with technology. While restaurant and healthcare jobs may be immune to this, cashier jobs are being replaced by electronic kiosks. Supermarkets, stadiums, and venues that sell tickets might be better off with an automated process than hiring a minimum wage worker.
I do not seeing the current administration revising current immigration policies to fill this worker shortage. They are more focused on creating jobs for Americans on American soil. I think it would be interesting for these companies to come up with their own solution to their problems like Caroline mentioned. If they raise their wages on their own, a more talented labor pool will be working for those companies, ultimately making them more efficient. However, as Matt mentioned, automated processes are taking over these jobs because they have proven to be more cost efficient. As we continue towards an increase in automated processes, it will be interesting to see the governments role in protecting jobs from AI.
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