Help Wanted: Why Jobs Are Hard to Fill

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Overview

The baby bust has hit the labor market. Children born after the postwar baby boom are beginning to look for jobs, and they are finding a sellers' market. They are coming of age at a fortuitous time. The economy is expanding and generating entry-level jobs. And because there are fewer young people to fill these positions, the “busters” are able to pick and choose in ways their older brothers and sisters could not only a few years ago.

Employers are actively competing for the shrinking pool of young job-seekers. Newspaper advertisements for entry-level jobs highlights benefits once reserved for higher-level positions: more pay, extensive training, flexible working hours, health insurance, paid vacations, etc. “Young folks can name their price,” says Doug Wesley, principal consultant of the Hall-Wesley Group, a management consulting firm in Lakeland, Fla.