WASHINGTON–Credit unions are going to need to join with other employers for what many analysts are describing as the pending “wage jolt.”
The Labor Department this week reported that the number of unfilled job openings in the U.S. rose to a record 8.1 million on the last day of March, lifting the job-openings rate—job openings as a percentage of the total number of open and filled jobs—to 5.3% from 5% a month earlier. Before the pandemic, the highest the job-openings rate had ever hit in the 20-year history of the data was 4.8% in 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“If anything, the job-openings rate is higher now. Data from jobs site Indeed.com show that as of May 7 job postings were a seasonally adjusted 23% above their Feb. 1, 2020, level,” noted the Journal analysis. “That is up from the end of March, when postings were 16% above that pre-pandemic level.”
The Journal report further noted the extreme level of job openings now, plus a mountain of anecdotal evidence, shows businesses really are facing severe labor needs, while last Friday’s disappointing April jobs report suggests that even with millions of people out of work, filling positions won’t be easy.
Workers Get ‘Picky’
While there remains debate over the reasons hiring has gotten so hard, with demand for workers looking likely to intensify, many workers that they can be picky, the Journal pointed out.
“Whatever the reason, if the disincentives to work are higher now, then the way to overcome them is by raising the incentives,” the Journal reported. “The biggest one is pay. Doing so might not be the easiest thing for employers to stomach. Companies face investor pressure to maintain profit margins, while many smaller businesses have experienced financial strains as a result of the pandemic that give them less room to maneuver.
“Nevertheless, to keep pace with demand in a quickly growing economy, businesses are going to need to add workers,” the analysis continued. “If higher wages are the only way they can do it, wages are going higher.”