Opioid Crisis Looms Over Job Market, Worrying Employers And Economists
Companies across the U.S. say it's getting harder to find applicants and keep workers once they've been hired. Economists from the Federal Reserve to Wall Street say opioid addiction may be a factor.
Driving down the main commercial artery in Muncie, Ind., it seems the job market is doing well. The local unemployment rate stands at 3.8 percent, and there are hiring signs posted outside the McDonald's, a pizza joint and at stop lights.
Around 2007 — the last time the market was so tight — job applicants came streaming through the offices of Express Employment Professionals, a staffing agency that screens and places about 120 workers a month, mostly at the local manufacturing firms.
"Even with the low unemployment rates that we had at that time, there were still plenty of applicants," says Express' owner, Nate Miller. "Now, we're down to that
