labor shortage

Deepak Patel, 43, conducts a room inspection at the Country Inn and Suites, Baltimore North, a hotel he owns and manages with his family in Rosedale, Maryland. Rosem Morton for NPR hide caption

Lamar Cornett has worked in restaurants for more than 20 years. During the pandemic, he began thinking about leaving that career behind. Courtesy of Lamar Cornett hide caption

A "Help Wanted" sign is displayed at a gas station in Los Angeles. After surviving the pandemic, small businesses across the country are struggling to find workers Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

Fresh asparagus has been gathered in Bottrop, Germany, in mid-April. Farms across Europe are facing a labor shortage as a result of closed borders because of the coronavirus pandemic. Martin Meissner/AP hide caption

A Senegalese migrant collects oranges on the plain of Rosarno and San Ferdinando in Calabria, Italy, on Feb. 6. The lockdown countries imposed to stop the coronavirus pandemic have cut off the usual flow of seasonal farmworkers. Alfonso Di Vicenzo/LightRocket via Getty hide caption

The job market is booming and the economy is expanding. But wage growth hasn't kept pace, which has many economists puzzled. Adam Glanzman/Getty Images hide caption