Retailers struggle to find workers for the holiday season

Retailers expecting the holiday shopping season after being upended by the coronavirus are now scrambling to find enough workers to staff their stores and distribution centers amidst the labor shortage. Macy's is offering $500 referral bonuses to each friend or family member that employees recruit to join the company. Meanwhile, Walmart is paying as much as $17 per hour and has also started offering free college tuition to its workers. And some Amazon warehouse jobs now command signing bonuses of up to $3,000. 

It has proven that it is not easy to entice workers into an industry that has been battered more than the most by the pandemic, fights over wearing masks and high rates of infection among workers. Willing retail workers are likely to earn larger paychecks and work fewer hours, while consumers may be greeted by less inventory and understaffed stores. Mark A. Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia University’s business school said, "Folks looking to work in retail have typically had very little choice — it’s largely been driven by geography and availability of hours. Now they can pick and choose who’s got the highest, best benefits, bonuses and hourly rates. And as we’ve seen, the escalation has been striking." 

Source: The New York Times