U.S. Factories Luring Workers With Hefty Perks
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Why are U.S. factories struggling to fill 500,000 open jobs?
Here's your Money Briefing. I'm J.R. Whelan at The Wall Street Journal in New York. U.S. factories are having a hard time finding qualified workers to fill hundreds of thousands of open jobs. To fill those slots, factories are offering more than just higher wages.
They're also offering signing bonuses, relocation expenses. even steel-toed boots and better cafeteria lunches.
That's Wall Street Journal reporter Austin Hufford. He'll tell us how automation in U.S. factories has made the task of staffing up all the more challenging. That's next.
What non-wage perks are factories offering to attract workers?
Unemployment is at a 50-year low, and that's sending U.S. factories scrambling to find workers to fill 500,000 open jobs, the most openings in 20 years. Wall Street Journal reporter Austin Huffer joins us to discuss how factories are searching nationwide and sweetening their offers to lower workers and convince them to move. So, Austin, what kinds of perks are factories offering people to relocate?
Well, in addition to rising wages, they're also offering signing bonuses, relocation expenses. even steel-toed boots and better cafeteria lunches.
How is Caterpillar using relocation pay to recruit hourly workers?
You know, employers really are having to get creative, as one economist said, to ensure that they have the workforces they need. And even with all these benefits, it's still not enough. You know, there's almost half a million open manufacturing jobs today.
You spoke to folks at a Caterpillar plant in Lafayette, Indiana. What are they doing to entice prospective employees to move?
So at Caterpillar, they're offering some workers jobs up to $5,000 in relocation benefits if they're 75 miles away from the plant in Indiana. You know, $5,000 is pretty significant for an hourly worker.
That is a lot, and it sounds like that's something they probably have not done for a long time, if at all.
Right. A lot of manufacturing owners tell me that this is a new thing, that definitely not since the recession and probably before then, they've never done this before. One HR executive said it's the tightest labor environment that she's seen in 25 years.
How are factories getting open jobs to show up on the radar of people who live in other cities?
So I spoke to one executive and they are actually posting in a Facebook group for people who are leaving Illinois, basically saying, hey, come over here. There's plenty of jobs in my city. I spoke to another executive and he's actually using targeted online ads based on location. And so they're sending ads at community colleges and even some competitors to try to get employees to apply.
Seems like it's a good idea to be in a Facebook group to target people who are moving.
What recruitment channels are factories using to find out-of-town candidates?
But a challenge here is that people are not moving as often as they once did.
Yeah. I mean, this has been a discussion among academics for several years now is that basically since the 1980s, there's been a decline in the percentage of Americans who move every year. Last year, it was 9.8 percent, which is basically the lowest since they've been keeping track in the 40s.
Also, the increase in automation in factories has made it extra tricky to find the right people.
Right, because for many of these positions, they're trying to find people with specific skills, whether it's welders, whether it's people who know how to program machines. It's not as much for the average day laborer. In most economies, in most parts of the country, you could... hire a day laborer for relatively affordably. But finding a welder is really difficult almost everywhere.
So they're looking for people with specialized skills.
Yes, in many cases. But remember, though, just because they're specialized doesn't mean it takes forever to get them. You know, some of these companies say they hire welders who've only taken a two-month intensive course, you know, so they aren't requiring, you know, four-year bachelors necessarily.
And what have recruiters told you about trying to find workers?
I mean, frankly, companies say that there just aren't enough to go around and that they really are hoping that community colleges and other programs kind of step up and produce more welders in the years to come and other types of skills.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Why are U.S. factories struggling to fill 500,000 open jobs?
0:05–0:44
2
What non-wage perks are factories offering to attract workers?
0:44–1:17
3
How is Caterpillar using relocation pay to recruit hourly workers?
1:17–2:49
4
What recruitment channels are factories using to find out-of-town candidates?
2:49–4:29
5
How does automation change the types of skills factories need?
4:29–5:17
6
What are the production consequences if factories can’t hire enough workers?
5:17–5:26
Speakers
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