In the last two years, cities and states have made headlines by establishing a $15-per-hour minimum wage for businesses operating within their geographic limits and retailers announcing they will hike their minimum wage for hourly employees up to $15-per-hour over the coming months or year. Additionally, federal legislation has been introduced to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour. According to HR Executive, this would likely reduce the financial stress of lower-paid workers. However, for retailers, the challenges in today's labor market go far beyond increasing wages. Though present before this COVID-19 crisis, and likely increased now, there are five specific trends, now concerns, that can be seen.
