Reduced Employment Opportunities

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, July 16th that although job openings are at a record high, the impression that all employers are hiring like never before may be misleading. Many businesses that laid off workers during the pandemic are already predicting they will need fewer employees in the future.

As with past economic shocks, many large or sophisticated employers have taken the opportunity to invest in automation or implement system changes to reduce dependency on labor.

“In industries from hotels to aerospace to restaurants, business have reviewed their operations and discovered ways to save on labor costs for the long term” – this applies to low-wage sectors.

• Marriott plans to limit housekeeping and reconfigure food and beverage operations. Marriott also reduced management staff by 30% in 2020 in food and beverage departments and plans on the changes being permanent
• Hilton is adopting “a flexible housekeeping policy” with daily service only available on request
• Unite Here, a union that represents hotel workers reporting that the end of daily cleaning could result in 180,000 job losses
• Dave & Busters has installed tablets for customers to order food and drink, allowing managers to schedule fewer servers
• Applebee’s is using tablets to let customers pay without a waiter