Yet The Shortage Continues

At the end of August, the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics reported a decline to 10.4 million in job openings, hires hanging at 6.3 million, and a 2.9 percent quit rate.

What started as an inconvenience due to the pandemic seems to unravel more deeply as the labour shortage continues to disadvantage economies across the world. Economists discuss varying factors that seem to forward this lag, from ageing employees retiring, to unsatisfied demands for sufficient wages and bettered workplace environments. Although, there is yet a definite cause behind the shortage’s continuation, speculations also include financial savings reducing the urgency to get back to work immediately.

One would except to see a wide range of applications for open vacancies, given the unemployment rate, but the pandemic plays its role in changing the choice of workplace for a huge part of the employee population, that, combined with pre-existing pandemic risks. As the pandemic continues to weave through better and worse days, potential employees fear risking them and their families’ health. An in-person job means risk, but also reverting to a lifestyle from over a year ago, something that may not a possibility for many people anymore. Due to Delta variant, people have become even more cautious, and opposed to risking health for work. This means that skills, location, and other determining variables are changing, narrowing down job preferences so much so that current openings do not fit the requirements anymore.

The economic recovery has also not been equal, due to which certain sectors like wholesale trade, food services, and education remain affected more severely, compared to the rest. As for the inflation that exists due to the excess demand against supply, the behaviour is expected to continue into 2022, especially since it would also apply to the wage inflation, which occurs courtesy of laid out incentives to lure more workers into jobs. Companies may be forced to competitively raise wages, create higher incentives, alongside matching the demands of applicants who seemingly have the upper hand in this round.

Even though the economic growth was relatively low around this time, economists expect the pace to pick up as the government passes bills that will act as stimulus, and the private sector play their role. Yes, the pandemic is ongoing, but vaccinations are becoming more prominent, and immunity is being prioritised, which creates scope for a quicker return through safer environments for employees to return to.