A protest by restaurant workers for wages in Washington on May 26, 2021 (AFP / MANDEL NGAN)
–
Bonuses, higher wages, teleworking … American companies are trying to seduce workers, recruitment difficulties limiting their resumption of activity, according to a Central Bank (Fed) survey published on Wednesday, two days before the creation figures jobs and unemployment.
“It is difficult for many companies to hire new workers, in particular low-wage workers, drivers (…) and skilled salespeople,” said the American Central Bank in its Beige Book, a study carried out with businesses between mid-April and May 25.
“The lack of candidates for employment has prevented some companies from increasing their production,” sometimes forcing them “to reduce their opening hours”, details the Fed.
This report does not bode well two days before the publication of the May jobs report. Analysts expect 720,000 job creations and a small drop in unemployment to 5.9%, but the strong disappointment of April is still in everyone’s mind: only 266,000 jobs had been created, against a million expected.
Hotels, restaurants, gyms, amusement parks, stadiums: the world’s largest economy is coming back to life, with more than half of American adults now fully vaccinated.
But companies fail to convince workers to come back. Particularly in the lower paying jobs.
– Reduced hours –
Thus, restaurateurs in Saint Louis (Missouri, center) who had organized a job fair to recruit a hundred people had the bad surprise of meeting only a dozen candidates.
In the Cleveland area (Ohio, north), “retailers and restaurants indicated that they were operating with reduced hours or had locations closed because they were understaffed,” said the Fed’s investigation.
Yet 16 million people are still unemployed. Fears related to the health situation persist, and schools have not all reopened full time, posing problems of care.
In addition, the Republicans point the finger at the generous unemployment benefits paid in the face of Covid-19, which, according to them, does not encourage people to return to work.
This additional aid, granted to workers who are not usually entitled to it, such as the self-employed, and extended even for those whose rights have expired, will be abolished in June or July in the republican states.
And companies anticipate persistent difficulties in the months to come.
In an attempt to attract job applicants and keep employees, bonuses and higher salaries are not enough. Companies also offer the possibility of teleworking, now very popular, and even reduced working hours compared to the competition.
– Rising price –
The employment situation has improved, however, especially in restaurants, hotels and retail, says the Fed. And a sign of a strong upturn in activity, demand for transport services is, except in ports, “exceptionally high”.
The American Chamber of Commerce is also concerned about these difficulties and is advocating with policymakers to help companies, calling for funds to be allocated to training for sectors that are recruiting, for childcare systems to be affordable. and that borders open more widely to immigrant workers.
Especially since companies face other challenges, starting with global supply barriers and shortages, especially of chips, that prevent factories from operating at full capacity and responding to the high demand. request.
And this “intensifies the pressure on costs”, with prices continuously rising.
Inflation in the United States accelerated in April, to 3.6% over one year, its largest increase since 2007, according to the PCE index released on Friday.
The Fed is aiming for 2% inflation in the long term and believes, in order to reach this target, that it will have to be exceeded for a while, without immediately tightening its monetary policy, which would risk slowing the recovery.
Despite the concerns of the markets, the heads of the monetary institution mostly anticipate only temporary inflation, linked to transitory factors.
jul / vmt / iba
– .
