Discussion Paper

How to Get the Workers?

Abstract: There is evidence that labor markets are even tighter now than they were when the COVID-19 pandemic reached U.S. shores in 2020. Among other things, job openings are at a record high, wage growth is accelerating, and survey measures of employers, including our own Richmond Fed surveys, show an unprecedentedly tight labor market. In our March survey, we found that firms continue to struggle finding workers across skill levels, but particularly in the low- to mid-skill range. Even with the wage increases that firms are implementing, they find that applicants still turn down the higher wage offers or simply drop out of the hiring process. Moreover, we learned in our February survey that firms are struggling to meet demand for goods and services in part because of the difficulty finding workers.

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Part of Series: Regional Matters

Publication Date: 2022-03-31