Job growth in October was broad-based, with companies across the economy taking on staff rapidly. The healthcare sector added 53,000 employees. Even the industry, which braced itself for a downturn, added 32,000 jobs, although other indicators suggest that this pace will not last much longer as consumer spending continues to shift away from goods and a strong dollar makes US exports more expensive for buyers in the US. other countries. to land.
There are other recent signs that the labor market remains tighter than policymakers would like. After a sharp decline in August, vacancies rose again in September to 10.7 million. That increase meant that there were about 1.9 vacancies for every unemployed person. The number of people who quit their jobs — typically a sign that employees are confident they’ll find better ones — fell to 4.1 million, but remained high. Layoffs have remained low.
For many companies, a relentless shortage of applicants has made hiring incredibly difficult.
Alex Anderman, the vice president of operations at FOMO Eats, which owns six fast-casual restaurants in San Francisco and Las Vegas, said finding employees was so challenging that he began walking into competitors’ restaurants last year and recruiting employees there. offer a raise to come work for him.
A year later he is still doing it.
“The power still lies with the worker,” said Mr Anderman, adding that he had raised both wages and prices. He is still so understaffed that when employees call in sick, his managers close stores early or hire temporary workers to fill in. Those workers, he said, get much higher wages.
To cope, his company has moved to automation and invested in equipment that cooks burgers with minimal human supervision. “It cooks it perfectly every time, and it turns out to work,” he said. “If people don’t want these jobs, and it seems they don’t want that, then it’s nice to get a robot to do it.”
There are, of course, plenty of signs of slowing down, especially in sectors most sensitive to higher interest rates. Construction, which faltered amid skyrocketing mortgage rates, created only about 1,000 jobs in October.
