09-24-2024
Data from Lightcast, a labor analytic company, shows that U.S. employers will soon face the country's largest labor shortage. This labor shortage will come from Baby Boomers retiring, childbirth rates falling, Gen Z and Gen Alpha workers wanting jobs with college degrees, and fewer adults participating in the workforce. Women comprise a significant proportion of individuals getting degrees, and they are not pursuing jobs in sectors with labor shortages, like plumbing, HVAC, and auto repair. The study also finds that working-age men are leaving the workforce due to an uptick in substance abuse issues and incarceration— a fact confirmed by other researchers as well. In addition, workers over 65 did not return to work in the same numbers post-pandemic, and individuals under 25 have had low employment. Any growth in the U.S. labor market comes from immigration and foreign-born workers.
These reduced numbers of workers result in critical economic areas lacking sufficient staff, like the food services industry and police, firefighters, and sanitation. The labor market will continue to face increasing problems, and experts predict difficulties in trying to reverse the declining labor participation of younger workers.
Lightcast recommends that employers combat these looming issues by using different thinking. Employers must "open the door wide in order to reach as many applicants as possible." To achieve this goal, employers should create clear job descriptions that orient toward future training and re-skilling. This recommendation reflects a shift from the usual way employers hire, where applicants already have the necessary skills. Lightcast says, "the best way to make sure a worker has the skills they need for a job is to teach them those skills." Employers should review applicant tracking systems to see if screened-out applicants would actually make good employees.