Friday, May 25, 2018
How Bad Is the Labor Shortage? Cities Will Pay You to Move There
This story, by David Harrison and Shayndi Raice appeared in the Wall Street Journal:
"In this new phase of the U.S. economy, one marked by a shortage of workers rather than jobs, civic leaders in Hamilton and elsewhere are asking themselves: Why not pay people to move here?
The idea has spread where a strong economy, an aging population and an exodus of younger workers have triggered severe labor shortages—often places with very low unemployment rates and higher-than-average wage growth. That’s why small towns across America, instead of offering incentives to employers, such as Amazon.com Inc., are giving it to workers—one by one.
Mike Allgrunn, an economist at the University of South Dakota, calls the financial incentives 'a modern-day Homestead Act,' referring to the 1862 law offering public land to settlers willing to move West. A similar deal now stands in Marne, Iowa, where free parcels are available to people who move there."
