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| Fears of Covid-19 and dissatisfaction with work-life balance and pay are among the factors fueling the worker shortage as the US economy has bounced back from the pandemic.The biggest American retailers are hiring staff ahead of the holiday season, with Amazon and Walmart both recruiting 150,000 people, Target and UPS taking on 100,000, and FedEx 90,000. (Photo by=AFP) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] NEW YORK: To keep the taps at his recently opened beer tasting room flowing, Peter Chekijian had no choice but to ask his main employees to come in seven days per week, BBC reported.
The staffing shortage has also kept Chekijian from realizing his goal of brewing beer on-site since he can't find contractors to finish installing the tanks he requires.
Even as millions of Americans who lost their jobs to the COVID-19 pandemic have returned to work, companies nationwide report they're still struggling to hire employees in recent months. More than 10 million jobs were unfilled as of the end of August, according to government data. The labor force participation rate, which measures the US economy's active workforce, was 61.6 percent in September, compared to 63.3 percent before the pandemic.
The causes of the short staffing are myriad, from continued fears of contracting COVID-19, particularly among people who live with elderly families or children, to early retirements and objections over work-life balance and low wages. The employee shortages come as restaurants and entertainment venues reopen amid more Americans getting vaccinated, and ahead of the uptick in business around the holiday season. Employers who spoke to AFP told of mad scrambles to attract applicants by offering higher wages and other perks.
