BNN Bloomberg (09/06/20) Sasso, Michael

Manufacturing expanded in August at its fastest pace since late 2018, forcing employers to add more staff to meet demand. However, warehouse and factory owners increasingly find they cannot fill jobs without increasing wages, because people are unwilling to relocate or travel great distances for a low-paid job.

Although the unemployment rate declined from its peak of more than 14% in April to 8.4% ahead of the Labor Day weekend, millions of Americans still are without work. “It just doesn’t make sense,” said Richard Wahlquist, the American Staffing Association’s chief executive officer. “It’s an employment market like no one in the industry has ever seen.”

Many clients of Hire Dynamics, a staffing firm based in a north Atlanta suburb, have implemented $2-an-hour pandemic bonuses on top of the usual $12 wage, according to Billy Milam, chief executive officer.

Meanwhile, staffing industry consultant Haley Marketing found that warehouse jobs in eastern Pennsylvania paying $12 to $14 an hour received 45% fewer applicants from May to July than they did during the same period last year, but jobs paying $17 an hour received 25% more responses than a year ago.

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