Why are American workers becoming harder to find?
Labour shortages are rising even though unemployment remains high
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/sites/default/files/images/2021/04/articles/main/20210501_fnp001.jpg)
THE PANDEMIC has led to all sorts of weird economic outcomes. The latest oddity is the growing chorus of complaints in America about a shortage of labour, even though 8m fewer people are in work today than before covid-19 struck. In early April Bloomberg reported that Delta Air Lines had cancelled 100 flights for lack of staff. People are so hard to find that one café in Florida has turned to robots to greet customers and deliver food. A branch of McDonald’s is paying potential burger-flippers $50 just to turn up for a job interview.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Help wanted”
Finance & economics May 1st 2021
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