Jobs, jobs, jobs: Employers are struggling to find staff

Not yet a subscriber? Sign up free below.

The job buffet

There has never been a better time to look for a new job in the US — with more than 10.9 million job openings as of the latest count from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's the highest number ever recorded (chart here).

The leisure & hospitality industry is particularly struggling to find employees, with the number of job openings in the industry up 88% on this time 2 years ago, which works out to an extra 850,000 jobs. The shortage has gotten so bad that some branches of McDonald's, Chick-fil-A and other restaurants have been shutting down or reducing their opening hours because they don't have enough staff — and it's a similar story in other sectors.

In the manufacturing industry the number of jobs open has more than doubled. There's a truck driver shortage, a shortage of staff at schools and not enough retail workers. Econ majors dust off your textbooks; the shortage means firms should begin to raise wages or make efforts to improve working conditions if they're struggling to attract the right talent — at least in theory.

Not yet a subscriber? Sign up free below.

Tags

Stories from this newsletter

DoorDash vs. Uber: Investors are backing DoorDash, current king of food delivery in the US
Jobs, jobs, jobs: Employers are struggling to find staff
Macau: The mecca of gaming is in trouble, again
We and our partners use cookies and similar technologies (“Cookies”) on our website and in our newsletters for performance, analytical or advertising purposes to ensure you have the best experience on our site and/or interaction with us. To find out more about the use of Cookies, see our Cookie Notice. Please click OK if you consent to our use of Cookies or click Manage my Preferences to manage your Cookie preferences.