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Not long ago, the United States, which was struggling with the surge in unemployment, is now experiencing the worst job vacancies in which it cannot find people to work for even if they pay more. The job shortage has already stimulated severe inflation and has become a destabilizing factor in the international economy.



Correspondent Kim Soo-hyung from Washington.



<Reporter> At the



end of March last year, this place that gave out free meals to people was originally a bar.



When we had to close our doors due to COVID-19, we decided to work with nearby restaurants to distribute food to the unemployed who need to worry about their meals right away.



One year and four months later, this place has completely restored its former appearance.



The bar, which has been open for business as usual, is filled with customers enjoying such a variety of events.



But now, the lack of staff to welcome such guests has become a bigger problem.



The shortage of workers makes it difficult to handle the influx of orders.



[Anna Valero/Bar Owner: It's really hard to find people who want to get back into the hospitality industry like pubs. Many people who have worked in this field have already changed their jobs to other occupations.]



Notices are posted everywhere in the Washington DC area saying they are looking for people to work.



Some even offer a $1,000 bonus after a few months of work.



The shortage of people is also true of the profession.



[Shin Woo-jin / Partner attorney at US law firm: Lawyers scouting competition between large law firms and competition for getting lawyers is very intense, so the salary of a freshman first-year lawyer is over $200,000.]



Last May, in the United States New job postings reached an all-time high of 9.2 million, but actual employment was only 5.9 million.



More and more people gave up looking for jobs while paying generous unemployment benefits to prevent the economic downturn. Structural factors such as a decrease in the influx of immigrants, an increase in the number of deaths due to the coronavirus, and changes in work patterns also had a major impact.



[Seongjae Kim / Professor, Gardner Web University, USA: Wage increase is actually the most powerful effect on inflation, but wage increase pushes up prices. Because the price has risen, wages are rising again.]



Until the coronavirus is completely resolved, the unprecedented job shortage in the United States is expected to continue, and there are concerns that it will act as a destabilizing factor in the international economy.



(Video coverage: Oh Jeong-sik, Video editing: Kim Jun-hee)