The Labor Shortage That's Causing More Labor Shortages

The Journal.

The Wall Street Journal

News, Daily News, Business News

4.2 • 5.8K Ratings

🗓️ 10 November 2021

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

One reason people can't go back to work is because they can't find childcare, and they can't find childcare because there's a shortage of childcare workers. WSJ's Kris Maher explains why the economics of the industry make it so difficult to raise wages, and the CEO of a childcare program in Philadelphia explains how hard she's tried to hire teachers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Zakia Boone is the CEO of a non-profit childcare program in Philadelphia.
0:10.5	It's called Wonder Spring.
0:12.3	Lately, Zakia, along with the rest of the industry, has been facing a big problem.
0:17.6	She can't find enough teachers.
0:19.8	Right now, we have 114 teachers on staff.
0:23.8	We need 150.
0:26.0	Zakia is getting desperate.
0:28.0	So much so that she's been handing out business cards to anyone who impresses her.
0:32.1	At public schools, at drive-thrues, even to a substitute teacher while he was working
0:36.6	a side gig.
0:37.6	I was at a comedy show, and the comedian who was on stage was telling jokes about being
0:43.8	a teacher and the challenges of being a teacher.
0:46.5	And man, he was saying that he didn't have even every dealing with all of that.
0:49.7	He didn't have any health care benefits.
0:51.3	I interrupted the show and said, excuse me.
0:54.3	I don't mean to interrupt your show, but this is not the joke part.
0:57.1	I'm hiring teachers.
0:58.8	Please call me after the show, and I passed my business card on the stage.
1:03.5	He saw me after the show, interviewed him the following week, and he just started at
1:08.2	Wonder Spring this week.
1:09.6	Wow, that is wild.
1:13.2	We are doing everything we can in order to get what we need for people's children.
	...

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