The American Labor Shortage
It is no secret that there is a labor shortage in the United States. Many of us have directly felt the effects of it and know it all too well. More and more, employers are struggling to find workers to fill their open positions as the work force, and the entire landscape of job searching, continues to change and evolve. This need is felt most acutely by employers who employ workers with a skilled work background. The trades have become far less sought after by the younger workforce in recent years. As this trend continues, the effects of that disparity are being thrown directly into the spotlight as employers race to find and retain workers.
Where is this issue coming from? A major culprit was the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the topic of a labor shortage, especially within the skilled workforce, has been discussed for years, the COVID-19 pandemic offered a maze of new problems for employers to solve. One of the most prevalent issues is what workers are now looking for. In the wake of the pandemic, there has been a major shift in what is prioritized by job seekers, if they are seeking new jobs at all.
Post COVID, job seekers are now prioritizing things like remote work, work-life balance, company culture, and their own health and well-being during their job searches. In many cases, factors like these will often determine whether a job offer is accepted or declined. The days of the traditional 9-5 in-office workdays are long gone. Other possibilities that point to the labor shortage are the workforce population that decided to either return to work part-time or stay home with their family as life after the pandemic returned to normal. Here again, this may stem from the shift in what is being prioritized for the American workforce, but there is speculation that many of these decisions stem from the high cost of childcare that many families are currently facing. Additionally, the number of Americans who went into business for themselves, and an aging workforce continues to stack onto the pile of reasons why the labor shortage is looming ever larger.
But perhaps the most concerning issue in the discussion around the labor shortage is just how many young, working-age professionals are not looking for employment. Numerous articles and research studies show that there is a staggering number of potential employees who have opted to not return to the workforce. This issue poses the largest cause of distress for employers, and for the overall health of the economy. Even as more jobs become available, the number of workers to fill them remains stagnant.
If that sounds like a tough spot to be in, that is because it is. However, this issue will not be one that resolves itself or fades away. It will require calculated and strategic efforts from employers to navigate the current labor market.
Over the next couple of months, we’ll continue to dive deeper into the current labor shortage and provide valuable insight into the question that is on everyone’s mind: What can employers do to combat the labor shortage?