The US will be facing another economic crisis in 2022 if the labor market shortage is not fulfilled. Ever since COVID - 19 and stimulus checks people have become comfortable living without jobs and hence there is a labor market shortage. Usually, this shortage is quickly overcome because there is only a short period where people can live without a pay check. However, over the past two years, during the global pandemic, Americans have been saving more than they have been spending, which is allowing them to stay without a job.
About 51% of the firms have reported that they have labor shortages. Last year 52% reported that they are having trouble finding qualified candidates. This year 74% of businesses have reported the same thing. Businesses have increased the labor prices but this will increase the cost of living which will cause inflation.
Here are some reasons why there is a labor shortage;
- People are scared that the pandemic will hit again.
- The mask and vaccine mandate in workplaces has limited people to. getting jobs.
- People are expecting higher salaries.
- Americans have become more selective with their job search.
Experts suggest that if the USA goes into 2022 with this labor shortage then there is a serious threat to the economic growth of the country.
Source: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=newssearch&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjvsa_m24b0AhV-pnIEHSTEDZIQxfQBKAB6BAgPEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2021%2F11%2F04%2Fperspectives%2Flabor-shortage-us-
3 comments:
I think that until firms are able to change their workplace and meet the demands of workers, there will continue to be a shortage of labor. It is also possible that the work from home mentality of the pandemic is still prevalent for many people and remote work is allowing them to not go back to the traditional workplace. I don't think that this labor shortage is necessarily a bad thing, I think it is allowing workers to address issues and when they chose a job they will be treated the way they want to be treated.
I agree that something has to change in the lower salary jobs such as fast food and resturant workers. After the the pandemic they realized there time is more valuable then what they were getting. they will need to be incentivized to return to work.
It makes complete sense why people are so hesitant to go back to work. They are either scared because of covid, or don't feel the need to because of the stimulus checks. This is definitely bad for the US economy as the service industry especially is heavily dependent on manual labor which does not pay well. Workers now want to be paid better for their work but this also has problems of its own.
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