Explore United States of America's latest macroeconomic trends and forecasts to inform business strategy and pinpoint opportunities and risks

Labor Shortage in US Reaches Crisis Proportions

  • The majority of small business owners stated that they still had trouble filling vacant positions in July 2022
  • The number of people employed decreased drastically since March 2022 after reaching pre-pandemic levels earlier in the year
  • Despite tackling the highest inflation in a generation, the foundation of the economy is mostly strong

 

Owners of small companies faced a severe shortage of labor in the US, which experts caution has reached crisis proportions.

According to a recent study by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), over half of the small business owners stated that they still faced trouble filling vacant positions in July 2022, which is almost at a historic level in the five-decade history.

The NFIB’s chief economist, Bill Dunkelberg, claimed that finding employees has never been so difficult for small business owners.

Businesses of all sizes are facing difficulties in the present labor market. However, small firms are at a disadvantage because they lack access to the same resources as larger corporations such as cash flow, loans, and economies of scale. As a result, it is more difficult for companies to provide benefits such as sign-on incentives or competitive pay.

Significantly, the labor force participation rate increased from 73.63% in 2018 to 74.56% in 2022, according to GlobalData.

The US economy has a mixed record, demonstrating both resilience in the face of rampant inflation and warnings of impending problems.

Despite experiencing the highest inflation in a generation, the economy’s foundation is mostly strong. However, it appears that the mix of purchases shifted to include more necessities as consumers are forced to pay more for essentials due to inflation. The ancillary expenditure on services such as travel is also increasing.

Explore United States of America's latest macroeconomic trends and forecasts to inform business strategy and pinpoint opportunities and risks Explore United States of America's latest macroeconomic trends and forecasts to inform business strategy and pinpoint opportunities and risks Visit Report Store
Still looking?

Don’t wait - discover a universe of connected data & insights with your next search. Browse over 28M data points across 22 industries.

Explorer

Access more premium companies when you subscribe to Explorer