It’s hard to remember a year in which the American worker has spent more time in the headlines.

We’ve all seen the ‘Now Hiring’ signs posted in business’ windows and yards throughout Chautauqua County this year. We’ve seen the Facebook posts announcing reduced schedules because businesses can’t find enough employers to work to fill open shifts. We’ve heard the debates over whether the labor shortage is being caused more by employers not paying enough or people collecting COVID-related benefits and staying on the labor market’s sidelines until the benefits run out.

There have been countless stories of companies offering hiring bonuses to new hires or offering new employees perks and flexibility that other employees could have only dreamed of just a few years ago. Such is the cost of doing business in 2021.

It all makes us think that if ever there was a time for employers to value their workers, it is Labor Day 2021.