Tight Labor Market Returns the Upper Hand to American Workers
Ballooning job openings in fields requiring minimal education—including in restaurants, transportation, warehousing and manufacturing—combined with a shrinking labor force are giving low-wage workers perks previously reserved for white-collar employees.Average weekly wages in leisure and hospitality, the sector that suffered the steepest job losses in 2020, were up 10.4% in May from February 2020, Labor Department data show, outpacing the private sector overall and inflation.“It’s a workers’ labor market right now and increasingly so for blue-collar workers,†said Becky Frankiewicz, president of staffing firm ManpowerGroup Inc.’s North America operations.Customer Service