Kroger CEO declares 20,000 job openings in the company

American retail company Kroger currently has 20,000 job openings, as was mentioned by the company’s CEO Rodney McMullen.

McMullen told CNBC that the biggest challenge faced by the company was its shortage of staff.

“We’re aggressively hiring anywhere we can. One of the biggest constraints we have right now is finding talented people,” he told CNBC.

Founded in 1883 in Ohio, Kroger is the largest supermarket by revenue and the second-largest general retailer. It owns 2,700 stores under multiple banners, including its name and other brands such as Ralphs, Harris Teeter, and Fry’s. 

Kroger has now struck a deal with Instacart to deliver online grocery orders to customers’ homes in as little as 30 minutes, by gig economy workers for the third-party delivery service who will pluck groceries off of Kroger’s shelves.

CNBC reported that the retailer was competing for workers at a time when there are more job openings than people — and some are opting out of the workforce because of other factors, such as a lack of child care.

The Labor Department reported the total number of jobless claims filed for the week ended September 4 as 310,000, the lowest in nearly 18 months.

Meanwhile, in another report, the Labor Department said that the number of available jobs totaled 10.9 million at the end of July, jumping 7.4% from the month earlier.

In its periodic Beige Book report, the Federal Reserve noted that there is an “extensive” shortages of available workers, and said businesses are raising wages to try to fill positions.

Companies such as Amazon and Target are providing new perks, such as covering the cost of college, while Walmart and CVS Health intend to raise hourly pay.

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