Previously, workers were fighting a hopeless battle to raise rockbottom minimum wages. Now employers in the U.S. and Europe are upping the ante to lure these same workers - who are currently in short supply. We’re on the verge of what literally could become a bidding war for frontline workers. Suddenly, workers are calling the shots with never-been-seen-before negotiating power. In the US there are about 10 million job openings chasing 8.6 million unemployed persons, according to Department of Labor data. Most of those jobs are lower tier, hourly jobs. The number of job openings in the retail industry reached 1.2 million in July with about 906,000 of those positioned being filled. In September, the unemployment rate in retail fell to 6.1%, down from 6.5% in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Average hourly wages rose 12.1% from about $19.86 in 2019 to $22.27 by August 2021, per Bureau of Labor data. Facing severe staffing shortages, most major retailers have raised starting wages to $15 per hour, as well as adding bonuses and incentives. Britain’s worst labour market shortages in decades are being driven by employers struggling to recruit low-paid workers, research suggests, while vacancies in other areas are still significantly below pre-pandemic levels. The UK is facing recruitment challenges with two fifths of companies reporting difficulty securing workers, according to a report by the Office for National Statistics. About 41% of businesses said they struggled to find staff, up from 32% in August. Wages rose as much as 8.8%, according to the Office of National Statistics. Warehouses in the UK are having to <i>pay</i> up to 30% more to recruit staff, adding more angst to an already stressed supply chain. <b>No Skills? No Problem:</b> Right now some of the most in demand workers are those needed to fill warehouse jobs, delivery drivers, sales assistants and other front line positions. <b>Post Pandemic Shift: </b> Workers are less willing to work at jobs with low pay and few benefits. <b>Not Just Amazon’s Problem: </b> Amazon might be a mega employer of lower skilled workers, but the problem they face is being echoed across most e-commerce players, retailers, and support services - particularly delivery. <b>A Legacy from Layoffs: </b> Companies essentially are now trying to ‘buy back’ workers who were laid off in the early days of the pandemic. <strong>Was leadership shortsighted?</strong> No, who could have foreseen the pandemic and all the twists and turns it created over the past 20 months. There were literally no warning signs, no signals, as to what had unfolded. <b>Leading the field: </b>Amazon, which probably is the largest employer of low tier workers,has announced that it will now cover tuition costs for its nearly 750,000 hourly workers (huge, if you have to finance a US college tuition). This comes after raising its starting wage to $15/hour. Most big box and discount retailers have boosted wages from pre-pandemic roughly $7/hour to $15/hour. Frontline workers have also been offered a variety of bonuses and incentives. Retailers from Dollar Tree to Nordstrom are offering incentives of up to $650 to hourly workers. Supply chain hires could see incentives of up to $2,500. <b>Most wanted benefit:</b> Medical insurance (critical in the US). Getting creative - about 19% of companies are offering pet insurance, likely to rise to 27% by 2023, according to a Gallagher survey. <b>Vaccination Strategy:</b> Instead of mandating that workers get vaccinated, a growing number of companies are rewarding vaccinated staff with wage hikes and other benefits.