U.S. businesses face labor shortage amid COVID-19: Singaporean media

SINGAPORE, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Companies nationwide in the United States have reported their struggling with labor shortage in recent months amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Singaporean media reported recently.

This happened although millions of Americans who lost their jobs to the pandemic have returned to work, said CNA, a local English language Asian news network.

Official data showed that more than 10 million jobs were unfilled at the end of August, said the CNA report.

Moreover, the labor force participation rate, which measures the U.S. economy's active workforce, was 61.6 percent in September this year, compared to 63.3 percent before the pandemic.

The causes of the short-staffed situation are myriad, from continued fears of contracting COVID-19, particularly among people who live with elderly family or children, to objections over work-life balance and low wages, according to the report.