America’s living wage shortage

As the economic recovery gathers steam, some employers are complaining about a shortage of workers. What they really mean, Heidi Sheirholz writes, is a shortage of workers at the low wages they want to pay:

There are lots of anecdotal reports swirling around about employers who can’t find workers. Just search “worker shortages” online and a seemingly endless list of stories pops up, so it’s easy to assume there’s an alarming lack of people to fill jobs. But a closer look reveals there may be a lot less to this than meets the eye…. Employers post their too-low wages, can’t find workers to fill jobs at that pay level, and claim they’re facing a labor shortage.

Read more here.