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Stories Tagged as

Labor shortage

COVID-19

High pay for traveling nurses a symptom and cause of staff shortages

by Blake Farmer
Sep 7, 2021
Traveling RNs make far more money than full-timers in the same job, stirring frustration at hospitals. Governments often foot the bill.
A poster lauding nurses'efforts hangs at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Los Angeles. The COVID pandemic has put more demands on nurses — and created more demand for nurses.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
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School cafeterias are looking for workers, too

by Rebecca Klein
Sep 6, 2021
Schools are struggling to find workers to serve children, and they are receiving fewer menu items from distributors and manufacturers.
It's not just cafeteria workers who are in short supply; there's also a shortage of warehouse workers and truck drivers.
George Frey/AFP via Getty Images
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Is the labor shortage a crisis or an adjustment?

by Kimberly Adams
Jun 1, 2021
According to new data, there are now 1.4 workers for each open job. Normally, that ratio is closer to 2.8 workers per vacant position.
Many industries are raising wages and offering bonuses to lure applicants. But will it work?
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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COVID-19

Employers try an unfamiliar tactic to attract workers: raising wages

by Sabri Ben-Achour
May 13, 2021
McDonald's has joined Chipotle in offering higher wages. And it's hard to undo that.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID & Unemployment

Many employers want to hire — now. Many workers aren't ready to go back.

by Mitchell Hartman
May 6, 2021
Maybe they're not vaccinated. Or they have caregiving responsibilities. Or employers aren't offering attractive wages.
Jobs in the public sector still haven't bounced back, which goes against forecasts.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Facing "grim" outlook, construction industry awaits Biden infrastructure plan

by Amy Scott
Feb 1, 2021
The new administration is expected to unveil a $2 trillion proposal this month.
Construction workers at a project in New York City. Over the past four years, the industry has been frustrated by infrastructure-spending promises that never materialized.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images
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COVID-19

Restaurants struggling to hire, despite high unemployment

by Kristin Schwab
Aug 27, 2020
The pandemic is worsening the labor crunch in an industry that's been short-handed for years.
A chef prepares patrons' meals at a restaurant in Tampa, Florida.
Octavio Jones/Getty Images
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Could fruit-picking robots solve the labor shortage on British farms?

by Stephen Beard
Dec 10, 2019
Brexit has led to a dearth of seasonal migrant workers in the United Kingdom. Robo pickers could plug the gap.
Rubion, a strawberry-picking robot from Belgium.
Octinion
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What Maine's "elder boom" means for the rest of the country

by Kimberly Adams , Jonaki Mehta and Rose Conlon
Aug 20, 2019
It could be a preview of a caregiver shortage to come.
John Moore/Getty Images
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Facing a labor shortage, construction tries to rebrand

by Amy Scott
Apr 11, 2019
To recruit more young people, employers talk up technology and higher pay.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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