Businesses struggle to find and retain workers amid Omicron surge

The Omicron variant was expected to wreak havoc on the labor market. But it didn't, The hike in hiring in January has underscored the economy’s growing capacity to weather renewed waves of surging coronavirus cases. This suggests that a tight labor market is forcing companies to retain workers now that hiring new workers is costlier and more difficult. 

Unlike all the previous waves of the pandemic when businesses were quick to pause operations and lay off workers, this time many are going to great lengths to hang on to the employees they already have. In the month of January, US employers added 467,000 jobs most of which were in hotels, restaurants, retailers and other services. 

Economist Julia Pollak says, "Omicron was hugely disruptive — millions of workers were absent due to illness, office reopenings stalled, hiring and job searches slowed down — and yet the job recovery continued." She adds, "Employers did not yank job postings and run for the hills. Hiring remained robust and in the end, the economy barely sneezed."

Source: The Washington Post