Agencies Aggressively Looking at Solutions to Farm Labor
Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says a multi-agency effort is underway to help improve the nation’s farm labor crisis.
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Labor Shortage
Fewer U.S. Workers: How COVID Changed Labor
Differing wage subsidy programs overseas, and a rate of higher infection in the U.S., were likely contributors to the sluggish domestic labor market.
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Millions of Job Seekers, Millions of Jobs, Few Connections
Workers and jobs are mismatched because people have moved or opted for a new direction, and the openings often don’t line up with job seekers’ skills or ZIP codes.
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112 Percent Increase in Open Jobs
Some 1.4 million people were laid off or furloughed from February to April 2020. But as of May, manufacturers were trying to fill 851,000 positions—a record high for the industry and a 112 percent increase since last February.
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More States Cut Unemployment Benefits
At least 19 states have decided to prematurely cut off the federal boost to regular state unemployment benefits in response to lackluster hiring numbers in spite of a need for workers.
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What’s Behind the Labor Crunch?
Is it enhanced unemployment benefits, border issues, wages? One agricultural economist asks if it is even correct to call it a labor “shortage.”
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