The U.S. labor shortage is approaching epidemic proportions, and employers could be the ones to pay, according to www.cnbc.com.
Employers are having trouble filling the record 6.7 million job openings with qualified workers.
Employers are going to have to start doing more to entice workers, likely through pay raises, training and other incentives.
"Pressure is building for employers, and both hard data and anecdotal reports indicate that wage pressures are building," Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, wealth managers, Southfield, Mich., said in a note. "With the economy still humming, employers are able to justify stronger wage increases to retain or attract talent, but it's becoming a more challenging proposition."
Most inflation measures are at 2 percent or more and continue rising. Companies are reporting record profits but could find themselves constrained by a double-short of inflation, both from wages and rising costs due to escalating trade tensions and tariffs between the U.S. and its trading partners.
