Powell meets a changed economy: Fewer workers, higher prices

WASHINGTON (AP) - Restaurant and hotel owners struggling to fill jobs. Supply-chain delays forcing up prices for small businesses. Unemployed Americans unable to find work even with job openings at a record high.

Those and other disruptions to the U.S. economy - consequences of the viral pandemic that erupted 18 months ago - appear likely to endure, a group of business owners and nonprofit executives told Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday.

The business challenges, described during a 'œFed Listens'ť virtual roundtable, underscore the ways that the COVID-19 outbreak and its delta variant are continuing to transform the U.S. economy. Some participants in the event said their business plans were still evolving. Others complained of sluggish sales and fluctuating fortunes after the pandemic eased this summer and then intensified in the past two months.

"We are really living in unique times,'ť Powell said at the end of the discussion. 'œI've never seen these kinds of supply-chain issues, never seen an economy that combines drastic labor shortages with lots of unemployed people. ... So, it's a very fast changing economy. It's going to be quite different from the one (before).'ť

The Fed chair asked Cheetie Kumar, a restaurant owner in Raleigh, North Carolina, why she has had such trouble finding workers. Powell's question goes to the heart of the Fed's mandate of maximizing employment, because many people who were working before the pandemic lost jobs and are no longer looking for one. When - or whether - these people resume their job hunts will help determine when the Fed can conclude that the economy has achieved maximum employment.

Kumar told Powell that many of her former employees have decided to permanently leave the restaurant industry.

'œI think a lot of people wanted to make life changes, and we lost a lot of people to different industries," she said. 'œI think half of our folks decided to go back to school.'ť

Kumar said her restaurant now pays a minimum of $18 an hour, and she added that higher wages are likely a long-term change for the restaurant industry.

'œWe cannot get by and pay people $13 an hour and expect them to stay with us for years and years,'ť Kumar said. 'œIt's just not going to happen.'ť

Loren Nalewanski, a vice president at Marriott Select Brands, said his company is losing housekeepers to other jobs that have recently raised pay. Even the recent cutoff of a $300-a-week federal unemployment supplement, he said, hasn't led to an increase in job applicants.

'œPeople have left the industry and unfortunately they're finding other things to do,'ť Nalewanski said. 'œOther industries that didn't pay as much perhaps ... are (now) paying a lot more.'ť