America’s Labor Shortage
The U.S. economy still has a massive labor shortage. The American Health Association reports 600,000 nurses plan to leave the field by 2027. Even the construction industry will need another 540,000 workers on top of the normal pace of hiring to meet the demand for labor, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors. That’s where apprenticeships come in. Last summer the White House passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which grants funding to several industries that rely heavily on skilled labor like infrastructure, manufacturing and more. As the U.S. economy faces skill shortages in a wide range of industries, these on-the-job training programs could become essential to the new American economy.