Mandates are one part of the labor shortage.
Vaccine mandates are contributing to labor supply problems, businesses are reporting to the Federal Reserve. The central bank said that recent economic growth has been modest to moderate in its “beige book” report, a collection of business anecdotes from each of the regional Federal Reserve Banks and a summation of the current nationwide economic environment.
The report acknowledged nationwide labor shortages and cited vaccine mandates as one of the factors contributing to the difficulty that employers are having in finding workers. The report showed that companies were also burdened with supply chain disruptions and higher costs.
“Firms reported high turnover, as workers left for other jobs or retired. Child care issues and vaccine mandates were widely cited as contributing to the problem, along with COVID-related absences,” the report said.
The Atlanta Fed reported, “Most employers shared that they would like to implement COVID-19 vaccine mandates, but were concerned about losing employees. Worries about employee mental health, burnout, safety, and vaccine mandates impacting company culture were mentioned.”
Around 4.3 million workers left their jobs in August, or around 3 percent of the labor force, a record high that goes in tandem with a little over 10.4 million jobs openings that same month.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For employers who are short-staffed as they try to hire more workers.
- For administration officials as they assess the slowdown in employment across the country.
- For business owners that are being forced to close down because of labor or supply chain shortages.
- For American workers as they evaluate health, family, and occupational priorities.
Sources: Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal
