- Paul Constant is a writer for Civic Ventures and also “Pitchfork Economics“podcast.
- In this article, he breaks down several potential issues affecting the current Labor shortage.
- Constant said that if employers really want to hire employees, they will raise wages and improve working conditions.
- For more stories, please visit www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
These signs have been posted in fast food restaurants and shared on social media. Almost become a cliché So far: “We are understaffed. Please be patient with the employees who show up. No one wants to work anymore.” The sign changes include additional complaints about “government charity” or the government “paying people to stay at home”, but The point is: Employers cannot find labor to provide services for their work, and usually they are eager to blame the shortage on anyone but themselves.
Of course, everyone knows that the truth of the so-called labor shortage is that no one wants to work because of the low wages and poor working conditions provided by employers.This is why many fast food restaurants that post “Nobody Wants to Work Anymore” signs also have signs Encourage young people as young as 14 to apply for jobs(Many states allow minimum wages for minor workers As low as $4.25 per hour (R67).)
at the same time, Union workers across the country are on strike Asking for better wages and a more user-friendly schedule, some people say their workplace direction.Because there are many vacancies in the job market now, wages are rising Higher than at any time in the past two decades. And white-collar workers are leaving Their high-paying office work The number is huge, which is what is now called the “great resignation.”
read more: Fewer adults see their work as a source of meaning in life, which shows how the pandemic has changed the relationship between work in the United States
This is the first time in the 21st century that American workers have the upper hand of employers. But why are there so many vacancies? Those fast-food workers can’t all move to higher-paying jobs, right? There are several common problems at work.
- Because in many American families, women are still considered the main childcare providers, and because the pandemic destroyed the entire childcare sector, women left the labor market The ratio of male workers is as high as four times Take care of their children during the pandemic.
- Economic commentator Noah Smith points out Since Donald Trump won the White House with a racist and anti-immigrant platform in 2016, the number of immigrants in the United States has basically halved. This is a reduction of 2 million from the initial forecast of the number of immigrants arriving in the United States in 2020—and many of these immigrants are engaged in low-paying jobs where “no one wants to work anymore”.
- We can’t ignore the terrible facts More than three-quarters of Americans die from Covid-19 Since March 2020, the U.S. has a large proportion of the working-age population. In addition, because the pandemic is still out of control across the country, many Americans (including those in high-risk health categories) may not feel safe enough to rejoin the workforce.
If employers really want to end the big resignation tomorrow, they can raise wages and make their business a more humane workplace. This will have the additional effect of giving workers more money and time to invest in the local economy and further promote employment growth.
But they should also support candidates who support policies that allow more Americans to return to work — such as affordable childcare, better and more popular immigration standards, and more people’s safe participation in the economy. A reasonable public health policy that does not break out frequently. The deadly Covid outbreak.
read more: The childcare center stated that they rejected desperate parents because they did not have enough staff to take care of more children
However, for American workers, this news is not all good news. Although salaries are rising, prices are also rising.As Zach Silk, President of Civic Ventures, in “The Pitch,” The sister newsletter of the Pitchfork Economics podcast, when you consider the surge in international inflation, the average U.S. wage has actually fallen by 1.2% since October last year.
“If I were an economic adviser to the Biden administration,” Silk wrote, “I would emphasize the importance of raising wages and all other policies that may help solve supply chain problems and global inflation.”
Silk concluded: “If your salary increases faster, rising prices will not have much impact on your life.” In order for American workers to thrive, the great resignation needs to continue, and our leaders must let them It’s easier to get the raises they desperately need.
