Rising hiring demand collides with shortage of workers

Written by Lauren Lamb on April 12, 2022

Increased demand for workers is banging into a shortage of people in the employment arena, a Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Economic Summit panel made clear, stating that “transitory” is a doomed word in assessing the labor squeeze.

“The labor market is really tight,” said Shari Bower, vice president and regional executive Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Miami Branch. “We’re hearing from our businesses that they can’t find qualified workers. That is across the board, from entry level to professional.” The pandemic had a significant impact on the issue, she said, affecting anything from childcare to retiring early. “We thought from the stimulus payment we’d see a bigger return to the labor forces. We haven’t seen that to the extent that we thought.”

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