America is facing a worker-shortage crisis, as several industries nationwide face the challenge of replenishing a workforce diminished by a surge of retirements that began during the pandemic.
It’s a growing problem in fields such as aviation, construction, manufacturing, nursing, and some professional industries like accounting.
Millions of workers have left the workforce since the start of the pandemic. As of February 2023, the national labor force participation rate is 0.7 percentage points below pre-pandemic levels, which is equivalent to 1.8 million workers leaving the workforce since the start of the pandemic in February 2020, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Further, the economy expanded at a 1.3 percent annual rate in the first three months of 2023, yet hiring was averaging nearly 300,000 jobs a month. In April, the unemployment rate reached 3.4 percent….