Sectorial and regional labor shortages are real. In a population the size of the US, national labor shortages don’t— it’s just wages below what the labor market determines appropriate.
In most cases this will be easily solved by on-the-job training, but with doctors there is also the added problem of a bureaucracy that has acted deliberately to restrict the supply of doctors, so as to protect the wages and prestige of that profession. That’s not to say that these problems don’t exist, but describing them as labor shortages that can be solved simply by importing more bodies is misleading.
On the job training doesn’t solve this at all. These are jobs that take significant theoretical and practical training. You can take any idiot and give them some CS classes and boom, software engineer. Nursing, MRI Technicians, CPAs, etc. need actual education and training.
all that those hoops means is that the lag to fill them is a year or two. which sounds like a long time but there’s always another graduating class coming along, if the employers are willing to pay competitive wages.
Do labor shortages even exist? Usually when I hear this claim with respect to the US economy it’s complete bullshit.
No, there is no such thing as a labor shortage. There is only employers’ unwillingness to pay market wages.
A shortage of people willing to work 60 hours a week to still not afford a place to live and food to eat.
Sectorial and regional labor shortages are real. In a population the size of the US, national labor shortages don’t— it’s just wages below what the labor market determines appropriate.
For example? I don’t know of a single so-called labor shortage that wouldn’t be solved by higher wages or better working conditions.
Anything that requires licensure and/or certification, it’s common in medicine and the skilled trades for this reason.
In most cases this will be easily solved by on-the-job training, but with doctors there is also the added problem of a bureaucracy that has acted deliberately to restrict the supply of doctors, so as to protect the wages and prestige of that profession. That’s not to say that these problems don’t exist, but describing them as labor shortages that can be solved simply by importing more bodies is misleading.
On the job training doesn’t solve this at all. These are jobs that take significant theoretical and practical training. You can take any idiot and give them some CS classes and boom, software engineer. Nursing, MRI Technicians, CPAs, etc. need actual education and training.
all that those hoops means is that the lag to fill them is a year or two. which sounds like a long time but there’s always another graduating class coming along, if the employers are willing to pay competitive wages.
And that’s a big fucking goddamn IF.