Climate change and a labor shortage threaten New Mexico’s signature chile crop

Oct 25, 2021
Growing chiles, a way of life in southern New Mexico, is under pressure.
Jamie Viramontes' farm has cut chile production in favor of less labor-intensive crops. “The hardest part is that it is a tradition and it's a heritage, and this is a unique crop that we’re able to grow in New Mexico,” Viramontes said.
Savannah Maher

Hire by hire, child care centers chip away at labor shortage

Oct 13, 2021
Hiring has been chronically tough for early childhood education jobs, especially during the pandemic.
Many child care centers remain understaffed.
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Hourly wages rose for the sixth month in a row

Oct 8, 2021
The September wage numbers from the Labor Department are good news in particular for workers at restaurants, hotels and retail.
Spencer Platt via Getty Images

There's still a paper shortage. You know what that means.

Oct 4, 2021
School supplies, holiday cards and, yes, toilet paper are all affected.
Shortages in paper products come down to paper pulp. It’s produced in mills, which are slowed down because of worker shortages right now.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

FedEx fights labor shortage as holiday season approaches

Sep 23, 2021
Companies could put a cap on the number of deliveries they accept, leaving the overflow to the postal service.
Pedestrians walk past a FedEx truck in the Financial District in New York City.
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How are businesses coping with labor shortages?

Sep 13, 2021
Automation and other kinds of downsizing may replace jobs.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Employers' new strategy: Come for the work, stay for the college tuition

Sep 13, 2021
Big companies have started offering free tuition for workers on the front lines. Does it help with retention?
Companies like Target are offering free college to its workers.
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For public good, not for profit.

Demand for workers is strong. Maybe too strong.

Sep 10, 2021
Labor shortages could hold back the economic recovery.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

High pay for traveling nurses a symptom and cause of staff shortages

Sep 7, 2021
Traveling RNs make far more money than full-timers in the same job, stirring frustration at hospitals. Governments often foot the bill.
A poster lauding nurses'efforts hangs at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Los Angeles. The COVID pandemic has put more demands on nurses — and created more demand for nurses.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

School cafeterias are looking for workers, too

Sep 6, 2021
Schools are struggling to find workers to serve children, and they are receiving fewer menu items from distributors and manufacturers.
It's not just cafeteria workers who are in short supply; there's also a shortage of warehouse workers and truck drivers.
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