Millions of unfilled positions underscore the importance of participation and a just economy, say Catholic experts.
From fast-food restaurants to manufacturing companies, employers across the country are struggling to fill positions once vacated due to the COVID-19 related shutdown.
Return-to-work hiring slowed sharply in August, and the labor force is still 2.9 million members fewer than it was in February 2020. Despite the fact that a record high of 10.9-million jobs remain unfilled, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8.4 million work-aged people are unemployed.
While mainstream opinions tend to focus on how the labor shortage is impacting the economy as an entity, speaking in terms of GDP and market projections, experts on Catholic economic thought are expressing their concerns about the employment crisis in terms of its impact on human persons. …