Businesses have given up on hiring, the workforce may be permanently changed

With Few Workers Available, Businesses Are Giving Up on Hiring

Statistics are suggesting that businesses may now be giving up on trying to rehire workers, in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.

Businesses are getting discouraged by their difficulties being able to find qualified workers with experience.
In a poll conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, only 44 percent of businesses that were looking for workers said it was easy to find potential hires with the skills they need.

Some attribute the labor shortage to gaps in employee engagement and compensation. Many women have left the workforce and not all of them are eager to go back. Businesses would be able to attract more workers if they offered more pay, but in many cases the businesses cannot afford to do that.

There are still people who have difficulty finding jobs, but employers are less eager to hire them. They are typically what are considered "lower quality" people. Oftentimes businesses would rather not hire anyone if they cannot find an applicant who is decent quality. A bad employee could end up causing a lot of problems for the business. It's possible some employers might have to begin readjusting their expectations. Maybe start taking on inexperienced workers and training them for the job, something that is more risky and expensive for the business. Maybe make efforts to improve working conditions to retain the workers they already do have.

It is possible the workforce could be left permanently altered if not all these people come back to the labor force. The labor shortages could cause prices of some services to go up. Perhaps that will eventually allow wage levels to go up as well.

There still is not a labor shortage in the construction industry however. That field has some moderately high unemployment. This labor shortage will probably not be affecting home prices very much.

The labor shortage is mostly in low paying jobs, but even for higher paying jobs there are more openings since the shutdown pushed many older people into early retirement.

 

Eating out has always been seen as a more expensive treat than dining at home, but the gap between the costs of eating in restaurants and the costs of making food at home is widening.
In the last year, the cost of meals made at home increased 2%, while the costs of eating out increased 9%, according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Why the cost of eating out is rising faster than eating at home, Quartz, Michelle Cheng, July 7, 2021

This is no doubt due to labor shortages and higher wage costs in the service sector.

 

Wonder where people get the idea that when a businesses' costs increase, taxes, wages, materials, their prices are going to remain the same?

 

Both my city and county governments are facing labor shortages across the spectrum of skills. In the case of the city, I think something other than COVID is also at play. They have suck a sketchy record of how they treat workers, I think it discourage applicants independent of COVID.