Plenty of attention has been paid to rising job vacancy rates as provinces re-opened their restaurant and hospitality industries this summer. This is backed by plenty of anecdotal reports of restaurateurs’ inability to find workers.
Whenever I hear that “there is a worker shortage” I wait (in vain) for the critical proviso “at the wage I’m offering.”
This is a classic labour market problem: what do you do if you don’t get enough applicants for a job at the wage being offered? You increase the wage.
If firms are unwilling to raise wages to entice workers, it may also mean their business model is incompatible with the post-pandemic labour market.
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