The worker shortage crisis in the U.S. has continued to worsen in the past months, according to a reportreleased on Tuesday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber stated in its reports that in March there were a record 8.1 million vacant jobs in the U.S., showing an increase of 600,000 positions from February. However, the number of available workers per job, 1.4 workers per job, has become half of what the national average has been for the past 20 years and the ratio continues to fall, according to the Chamber.
The business group notes that in some industries, there are fewer available workers than the number of vacant jobs, such as education, health services and government jobs.
“More than 90 percent of state and local chambers of commerce say worker shortages are holding back their economies, and more than 90 percent of industry association economists say employers in their sectors are struggling to find qualified workers for open jobs,” the Chamber wrote.
“The worker shortage is real – and it’s getting worse by the day,” Chamber President and CEO Suzanne Clark said in the report.
See the full story from Joseph Cho in TheHill.com here.
