That's an extremely tight labor market. Consumer perceptions of worsening service aren't unfounded, Dodson says. Lest baggers and clerks charge libel, we're talking in broad terms. Every employee in every field has different abilities. Some baggers are brilliant.
Some clerks are models of efficiency and charm.
And the tight labor market hasn't affected just entry-level service jobs. Many positions in all kinds of professions are going unfilled for lack of workers. Competition among employers for qualified workers, particularly in the high-tech industry, is fierce. But that's not the case in every field. There's a surfeit of academics in some specialties, for example.