Small and big businesses alike are struggling to hire workers – and experts say the problem is putting a loss on the recovery of the American economy.
Starting next week, people working at more than 600 Sheets convenience stores spanning from Pennsylvania to North Carolina will earn $ 18.50 per hour – $ 4 an hour more than what they were earning at the beginning of the year.
Still, with thousands of other companies – such as small contractors ranging from Chipotle and McDonald’s that have been splurging to meet the growing construction demand – Coldze is not entirely certain that the $ 50 million in planned wage increases will give jobs to workers. Would be enough to convince them to apply.
“We are definitely behind this year in our hiring,” said Ed Shetz, owner and president of Coldz, which is washing hands to hire 2,000 more workers for the summer travel season. “The business is good and it is going to get better in the summer. We see those two things colliding. “
The problem is threatening to put a lid on the nation’s nascent recovery from an epidemic-induced recession, as workers continue to substitute for generous COVID-19 unemployment benefits – including health and safety – including $ 300 weekly handouts from the federal government. in between. , Adequate hours and access to childcare, experts warned.
“Small business owners are seeing an increase in sales, but are troubled by not having enough workers,” said Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at the National Federation of Independent Businesses. “Finding qualified employees is the biggest challenge for small businesses and is slowing economic growth.”
The US Department of Labor said this week that the start of the job rose to a record 8.1 million in March – the highest number since the Fed began compiling data 20 years ago – even the unemployed ranked 10. Was close to a million. NFIB, meanwhile, found that 44 percent of small businesses say they have job openings they cannot fill. This is the highest level ever, and 22 percent of the historical average.
According to government data, the majority are in restaurants, retailers and travel-related companies. The largest increase in job vacancies occurred in late March in housing and food services – which were followed by 185,000 new openings followed by 155,000 new openings in state and local public education, and 81,000 new openings in arts, entertainment and recreation.
With such oddities, the US job market is unlikely to return to full employment until early 2023, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. Meanwhile, businesses looking to attract employees in the coming months may be forced to pay higher hourly rates, they predict.
“You can see that wages have increased more as businesses are opening up,” Zandi said. “Parents who are at home with their children can stay at home until September.”
At 6.1 percent last month, the unemployment rate has decreased dramatically to a peak of 14.7 percent in April 2020. Still, pushing it further down has become a stubborn obstacle for businesses such as restaurants and hotels, which are struggling to keep enough people to keep growing. Ease of demand as COVID-19 restriction.
In large cities such as New York, the $ 15 minimum wage is effectively nudged to $ 18 per hour. According to Ruel Minot, recruitment and training manager for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, this is an average in Brooklyn, where food-related businesses and childcare services are significantly lower.
One challenge Big Apple restaurants are facing is that a large segment of their labor pool – Broadway actors – has temporarily left the city until Broadway reopens in the fall. Minot said an eatery in Brooklyn landed a baker only after offering a wage of $ 30 per hour – $ 10 more than what he was previously paying.
“I was surprised that only two people responded to the ad,” Minot told The Post.
Despite the increasing pressure to hire workers, many employers have sought to avoid permanent wage increases rather than offering outright allowances such as referrals and signed bonuses. After the 2009 recession, it took nine years for salaries to rise, Andrew Challoner of Challenger, a Chicago executive-placement firm, notes Gray and Christmas.
“We have not yet seen wage increases, despite the fact that employers are finding it difficult to get employees,” said Challenger.
Some states are not waiting until September to see if employees are ready to return to work. Republican governors of at least nine states, including Arkansas, Montana and South Carolina, recently said they would prematurely eliminate additional benefits for their constituents to help struggling employers in their states.
Meanwhile, the Coldze series, which says it is permanently increasing its hourly wages, also notes that a dollar increase of $ 4 would disappear by sept 23, when $ 300 in federal unemployment benefits Ends up benefiting from.
“We need to get a place now before the summer starts,” said Coldze, referring to the extra bucks as a “summer stimulus” wage
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