Back to BusinessThis Is UncomfortableI've Always Wondered ...Econ Extra Credit with David BrancaccioMake Me Smart Daily

Loading...

0:00
0% played
Stories Tagged as

Labor shortage

Is the labor shortage a crisis or an adjustment?

by Kimberly Adams
Jun 1, 2021
According to new data, there are now 1.4 workers for each open job. Normally, that ratio is closer to 2.8 workers per vacant position.
Many industries are raising wages and offering bonuses to lure applicants. But will it work?
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
COVID-19

Employers try an unfamiliar tactic to attract workers: raising wages

by Sabri Ben-Achour
May 13, 2021
McDonald's has joined Chipotle in offering higher wages. And it's hard to undo that.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
COVID & Unemployment

Many employers want to hire — now. Many workers aren't ready to go back.

by Mitchell Hartman
May 6, 2021
Maybe they're not vaccinated. Or they have caregiving responsibilities. Or employers aren't offering attractive wages.
Companies are recruiting loudly and persistently, but they may need to try harder. People aren't rejoining the workforce as quickly as companies are creating openings.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Facing "grim" outlook, construction industry awaits Biden infrastructure plan

by Amy Scott
Feb 1, 2021
The new administration is expected to unveil a $2 trillion proposal this month.
Construction workers at a project in New York City. Over the past four years, the industry has been frustrated by infrastructure-spending promises that never materialized.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
COVID-19

Restaurants struggling to hire, despite high unemployment

by Kristin Schwab
Aug 27, 2020
The pandemic is worsening the labor crunch in an industry that's been short-handed for years.
A chef prepares patrons' meals at a restaurant in Tampa, Florida.
Octavio Jones/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Could fruit-picking robots solve the labor shortage on British farms?

by Stephen Beard
Dec 10, 2019
Brexit has led to a dearth of seasonal migrant workers in the United Kingdom. Robo pickers could plug the gap.
Rubion, a strawberry-picking robot from Belgium.
Octinion
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE

What Maine's "elder boom" means for the rest of the country

by Kimberly Adams , Jonaki Mehta and Rose Conlon
Aug 20, 2019
It could be a preview of a caregiver shortage to come.
John Moore/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE

The future is bright… let’s make it even brighter together.

Be a Marketplace Investor with a donation in any amount today.

Invest in marketplace

Facing a labor shortage, construction tries to rebrand

by Amy Scott
Apr 11, 2019
To recruit more young people, employers talk up technology and higher pay.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

How a labor shortage is giving leverage to blue-collar workers

by Kimberly Adams and Bennett Purser
Mar 25, 2019
And what companies must do to adapt in this economy
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

U.S. short on long-haul truckers

by Mitchell Hartman
Mar 13, 2019
Trucking companies are boosting pay and trying to make the lifestyle more amenable to a new generation of drivers.
61-year-old Petru Strugari of Portland, Oregon, says driver pay is rising at trucking companies, just as costs rise for parts and maintenance to operate his own truck.
Mitchell Hartman/Marketplace
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE