Businesses nationwide struggle with labor shortage

Employers are struggling to fill jobs due to a labor shortage, one complicated and shaped by the pandemic.

Numbers show that not only are employers having a hard time filling jobs, potential workers are having a hard time finding a job they want to go to.

Experts say the Delta variant is keeping people who were going back into the workforce at home.

"Many people are just so resistant to going back to work," said Barbara Denham, Senior Economist for Oxford Economics.  "And of course, in New York City, the midtown/downtown office markets and the economies that thrive off the office markets have been deeply impacted."

Despite higher wages being offered, hiring in skilled positions has gotten harder for employers even in states where unemployment benefits were cut off. 

800,000 New Yorkers are about to lose their benefits during what Andrew McCaskill from LinkedIn is calling "The Great Reshuffle."

"That means that employers and employees alike are really rethinking not just where they work, but how they want to work. And coming out of the pandemic, employees are really looking to get more out of their jobs than they ever have before," McCaskill said.

Where companies once got to pick and choose, candidates now have their pick, and they're looking for more than money. 

"We're no longer competing for title and wages. Workplace flexibility, personal and professional development, having more work/life balance," said Erika Cartagena, a leadership development coach.

This is leading companies to rethink qualifications like requiring a college degree and looking after the mental health of their people. 

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