Labor

The so-called "subminimum wage" program was created for employers that hire people with disabilities, but some say that practice should end.

Hiring too many workers — many of them part time — was an effort to avoid losing sales.

"What we've seen is consistent cargo flow," says Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.

"There really is not a staffing shortage per se," said National Nurses United president Deborah Burger. "There's a shortage of nurses willing to put their lives and their license and patients' lives at risk."

Just 10.3% of Americans belonged to unions in 2021, and the rate for private-sector employees was 6.1%.

An online geographic tracker from Cornell shows there were dozens of strikes that didn't make it into national headlines or government data.

Many employers are turning to younger people to fill labor shortages as business reopen. Two teenagers share their work stories.

“COVID has shown Americans the importance of the trucking profession,” said Darrel Harris, president of Yellow Corp.

A number of companies, though concerned about treatment of Uyghurs, appear to have tried to appease widespread consumer anger.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, nearly half of Asian Americans who were unemployed had been out of work for more than six months.