Job Shortages
You’ve probably heard about the job shortage in America. Many cities and towns are struggling to find workers for a wide-range of jobs such as manufacturers, engineers, mechanics, and many more. And with unemployment at an 18 year low (and the Federal Reserve forecasting even lower unemployment over the next year), it is clear that there simply aren’t enough people to fill these jobs.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting now that many midwestern towns are paying millennials to move there to combat this job shortage. These can come in many forms, but few millennials are receiving grants to pay down their student loans, make a down payment on their home, and in one rare case, the chamber of commerce held a ceremony to give the recipient an even bigger check.
Millennials on the Move
Since 2007-2009, many millennials have opted to move away from rural towns instead to big cities such as San Francisco, Austin, or New York, but these cities are having their rents skyrocketing way past wages. Now the idea of moving to some of these cities would be unimaginable because of the rent alone. And the rural towns that these millennials left behind are now struggling in their own way. Small businesses are all ranking labor shortages as their No. 1 business concern, according to the National Federation of Independent Business. What other way to get millennials to move back, then to offer them more money?
It’s clear that there is an issue in America, so these small towns such as Hamilton, OH are finding new ways to bring the right talent to fill in the gaps. Time will tell if this strategy will work.
