A strong labor market is proving both a blessing and a curse for Corporate America.

More people at work means more spending on things like apartments or waste disposal, and companies have welcomed that on recent earnings calls. But a shrinking pool of employees means the providers of those goods and services have to pay ever-higher wages, or cope with staff shortages and increased turnover, as they struggle to meet the rising demand.

That's one of the drawbacks of a jobs boom that keeps surprising analysts. The United States added 304,000 workers to payrolls in January—easily topping forecasts, even amid a partial shutdown of the federal government and with unemployment already close to a five-decade low.

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Thought leadership on regulatory changes, economic trends, corporate success stories, and tactical solutions for treasurers, CFOs, risk managers, controllers, and other finance professionals
  • Informative weekly newsletter featuring news, analysis, real-world case studies, and other critical content
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.