Employers are Desperate to Find Workers as Consumer Spending Surges

By Emma Nitzsche

Now that pandemic restrictions and mask mandates are slowly disappearing, Americans are ready to return to their favorite activities—dining, traveling, and shopping. However, business are struggling to attract new talent and get the millions of workers furloughed and laid off in 2020 back to work to meet demand.

Carolyn Lee, an executor for the development of the National Association of Manufacturers, said manufacturing firms are “desperate for workers and they would take anybody in off the street and help them learn what they need to know to start.”

Almost 4 million Americans quit their jobs, and 1.7 million workers over 55 unexpectedly retired during the pandemic. Despite the U.S. economy generating 559,000 new jobs in May, the unemployment rate dropped to 6.1 percent.

Job openings hit a record high of over 9.3 million in April, with businesses that cut hours and services during the pandemic reporting the most significant increases.

“Supply is restrained as workers are slow to find their post-pandemic normal. The result is a labor market that has snapped back quicker than many expected,” said Nick Bunker, the director of the Hiring Lab.

An estimated 93% of business owners reported few or no qualified applicants for positions they needed to fill. After a year of unemployment and stimulus checks, many Americans feel less pressure to return to the workforce. Hiring challenges have been so drastic that many U.S. states have announced plans to phase out federal unemployment insurance programs to encourage people to look for work.

In the meantime, businesses desperate for workers are offering incentives to lure in potential employees. Most employers are advertising boosted pay and benefits. Costco raised its pay to $16 per hour, and Walmart announced a starting wage of $15. Under Armor raised its minimum wage from $10 to $15 when the company desperately needed to fill more than 3,000 open positions in its stores and warehouses. Many fast-food restaurants started holding job fairs and special interview days to hire qualified applicants on the spot.