Hospitality is the only sector in the U.S. showing some signs of a labor shortage, said David Cooper, a senior economic analyst with the Economic Policy Institute who specializes in state labor markets.
The “clearest sign of a real labor shortage,” he said, is rapidly rising wages, and it looks like hospitality is actually upping pay to attract workers. That’s overdue, he said, and, even with improved wages, pay in the sector is comparatively low.
But the economy is still in the midst of recovery, Cooper said.
The U.S. is still down 8.2 million jobs. As of South Carolina’s last employment report, the state was down 66,600 jobs year-over-year. Two of ten sectors — construction and trade, transportation and utilities — had fully recovered their pre-pandemic jobs while the others posted deficits.
Cooper said he’s concerned the decision by some states to end benefits early could be “short-sighted.”
“The point of unemployment insurance is to keep people afloat, until they can find a decent job that’s appropriate for their skills,” he said.
Removing the safety net while the economy is still recovering, Cooper said, could lead workers into lower-wage jobs or jobs they’re overqualified for.
While that could fill openings in the short-term, he argued that doesn’t “promote economic well-being.”