• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place

3

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place

3

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
ConferencesMost Powerful Women

U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO: The labor crunch is ‘one of the biggest problems threatening the country’

By
Declan Harty
Declan Harty
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Declan Harty
Declan Harty
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 13, 2021, 4:00 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Corporate America has long relied on a tried-and-true set of tools to address worker shortages.

In the past, higher wages, better benefits, and clearer pathways to promotion have all proved attractive enough to woo workers to join companies. But the labor crunch taking place in the U.S. today strikes differently, and it’s bound to force executives and business leaders to think differently—if they aren’t doing so already—about what will persuade employees to sign on with them, says U.S. Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Suzanne Clark.

“It is one of the biggest problems threatening the country,” Clark said on Wednesday at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C. “We all took economics. When demand outpaces supply, then any CEO has got to think about what they’re doing to retain workers, to be sympathetic to their workforce, to be a best-in-class employer—whether that’s wages, benefits, flexible schedules, access to childcare, better training.”

Over the course of 2021, the U.S. labor market has gone through a massive shift, one that has disproportionately hit women and Black Americans in particular.

Prospective employees—facing a surplus of new questions resulting from COVID-19, such as whether going back to the office is safe and who will take care of their unvaccinated children not in school yet—have proved to be resilient in their search for new jobs.

In August, there were 10.4 million job postings, which, though down from July, is still well in excess of normal levels, according to the Labor Department’s latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Meanwhile, the number of people quitting their jobs in the month, as a percentage of total employment, hit a record level in August.

For Black workers, the Labor Department has reported that the unemployment rate in the U.S. still sits at 7.9%. The overall unemployment rate, by comparison, is 4.8%. Clark says businesses need to be thinking about how to reach prospective employees in underrepresented communities and about where they are funneling their training and recruiting efforts.

And it’s not just about reaching those who were put out of work by the pandemic. Workers who have stayed employed, especially women, are voluntarily leaving their positions in droves, too. A September report from consultancy McKinsey found that one in three women has considered scaling back her career or leaving the workforce altogether in 2021. Part of the reason behind that phenomenon is the fact that childcare remains a question for many working mothers, McKinsey noted.

“One of the things that this country needs to decide is how we remove barriers for women to work, and one of them is access to childcare,” Clark said on Wednesday. “We are going to have to do more to subsidize childcare.”

Subscribe to Fortune Daily to get essential business stories delivered straight to your inbox each morning.

About the Author
By Declan Harty
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest from our Conferences

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest from our Conferences

At Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2026, Chris Bedi, Chief Customer Officer and Enterprise AI Advisor, ServiceNow; China Widener, Vice Chair and US Technology, Media & Telecommunications Industry Leader, Deloitte; and Phil Wiser, Chief Technology Officer, Paramount, speak on a panel with Kristin Stoller, Fortune editorial director.
NewslettersFortune Workplace Innovation
This tech CEO fired 80% of his workforce over AI resistance. Here’s what he’s learned since then
By Kristin StollerJune 15, 2026
16 days ago
Courtney Robinson, head of policy and communications, at Akoya speaks on a panel at Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2026.
RetailBrainstorm Tech
AI shopping agents are coming. No one is ready for them
By Jeremy KahnJune 12, 2026
18 days ago
The head of Claude Code hasn’t ‘written a line of code by hand’ in 8 months
ConferencesBrainstorm Tech
The head of Claude Code hasn’t ‘written a line of code by hand’ in 8 months
By Nick LichtenbergJune 11, 2026
20 days ago
Sarah Franklin, Chief Executive Officer of Lattice, and Francine Katsoudas, EVP and Chief People, Policy and Purpose Officer at Cisco, speak at Fortune's COO Summit with Kristin Stoller, Editorial Director at Fortune.
NewslettersFortune Workplace Innovation
AI disruption arrived 6 years early—now executives are drawing the line
By Kristin StollerJune 8, 2026
23 days ago
Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2026 livestream
ConferencesBrainstorm Tech
Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2026 livestream
By Fortune EditorsJune 8, 2026
23 days ago
dw
ConferencesCOO Summit
This CEO has had 6 major jobs in Silicon Valley: How Dennis Woodside built a career on saying yes to hard problems
By Nick LichtenbergJune 3, 2026
27 days ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
6 days ago
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
Success
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
By Sydney LakeJune 29, 2026
2 days ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
4 days ago
'Humanity has chosen to become idiots': This Brown professor switched to take-home exams after a mass shooting and discovered mass cheating
AI
'Humanity has chosen to become idiots': This Brown professor switched to take-home exams after a mass shooting and discovered mass cheating
By Catherina GioinoJune 29, 2026
1 day ago
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
Environment
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
By Catherina GioinoJune 28, 2026
3 days ago
The U.S. Army is opening military bases to private billions — here's why that changes everything for the next 250 years
Commentary
The U.S. Army is opening military bases to private billions — here's why that changes everything for the next 250 years
By Marc AndersenJune 30, 2026
17 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.