[dw1]

What many people seem to forget is that staffing levels were often established when there were more workers, i.e. when boomers were working in larger numbers.

Now that more & more boomers are retiring, and their children have been in the workforce for some time, there are simply fewer low-wage workers available.

It also appears that workers have gotten smarter as there are fewer willing to work for low wages in dead-end jobs and/or ones with no benefits or extremely costly benefits.

Because my company paid fairly well and had respectable benefits we have had no hiring issues. Admittedly, retention is an issue because of the high level of competition between employers and people thinking "the grass is always greener".

IMHO, many employers got so used to the job market favoring them that their businesses and profitability (especially, for example, exorbitant executive salaries & perks) are based on very low-cost labor and either haven't or can't adjust and maintain both the high executive salaries and shareholder profits without significant restructuring.

BTW, in my area 55-80K$ per year is low for a manager, and based on what I (or a job seeker) see on the web for 2022 it is on the low end for KC. So yes it is a wage issue, especially if one was to take medical benefits cost into account. Your company's (and industry's) reputation for job security, working conditions, etc. could also be factors. Blaming one political party or another just shows one's bias.