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New Zealand's immigration numbers have exceeded forecasts, with the government's own advisers reporting a surge in arrivals. The Treasury Department's data shows that annual net immigration is projected to be 117,700 in 2023, more than double the forecast in May's budget. This influx of foreign workers has helped alleviate labor shortages and slow wage inflation, but it also poses a risk to inflation and may require the central bank to maintain a more restrictive monetary policy. The return to normal immigration levels is now expected in 2026 instead of 2025. [Extracted from the article]

Hong Kong is struggling with a lack of workers in services and other industries as business surged following the removal of pandemic curbs. (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong will ease entry rules to bring in 27,000 foreign workers to stem a manpower shortage in the financial hub. [Extracted from the article]

Ordinary time wages for non-government workers rose at a record annual pace of 4.3% in the fourth quarter, and the RBNZ in February projected an acceleration to above 5% by late 2023. (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand's pool of labor is expanding at the fastest pace in more than two years as the nation's re-opened border allows in more foreign workers. [Extracted from the article]

The issue of labor shortages "is now at critical point", Make UK Modular's Cole said. (Bloomberg) -- Chronic labor shortages in Britain's construction sector could be tackled by building homes in factories, according to a lobby group. [Extracted from the article]

The Migration Advisory Committee, which advises the government on immigration, has recommended that tradespeople including carpenters, bricklayers and roofers should be added to the "shortage occupation list", according to a person familiar with the matter. (Bloomberg) -- The UK government is drawing up plans to loosen immigration rules to tackle chronic shortages in the construction industry, amid concerns that encouraging Britons to go back to work won't be enough to plug the gaps. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand needs more workers and higher productivity to deliver the major infrastructure projects that are planned, according to the Infrastructure Commission. New Zealand has a pipeline of infrastructure projects worth nearly NZ$80 billion ($49 billion) but the challenge is to find workers and leaders to successfully deliver them. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Stellantis NV and Renault SA are turning to their own ranks to tackle a shortage of truck drivers that's leaving thousands of vehicles stranded away from dealerships and customers. Truck driver shortages left thousands of cars stuck at Stellantis's Sochaux plant in eastern France late last year, forcing the company to park many of them on an abandoned airfield several kilometers away from the factory. [Extracted from the article]

Truck driver shortages left thousands of cars stuck at Stellantis's Sochaux plant in eastern France late last year, forcing the company to park many of them on an abandoned airfield several kilometers away from the factory. (Bloomberg) -- Stellantis NV is turning to its own ranks to resolve a shortage of truck drivers that's leaving thousands of vehicles stranded away from dealerships and customers. [Extracted from the article]

And while most also see West Texas Intermediate oil at $80 per barrel or higher at the end of next year - levels that are above the current price - underlying inflation and supply chain issues punctuated by labor shortages also make major production hikes unlikely. (Bloomberg) -- US shale executives remain concerned about the outlook for rising costs going into 2023 as they continue to struggle with hiring and retaining workers, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- A chronic shortage of plantation workers in Malaysia may cost palm oil producers about 20 billion ringgit ($4.6 billion) this year, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, curbing supply and potentially boosting global prices. An earlier version corrected the last paragraph to show the palm oil sector is asking authorities to take steps to bring in more plantation workers) ©2022 Bloomberg L.P. The palm oil sector is seeking help from Malaysia's new government to expedite the process of bringing in more plantation workers, Tek said. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- A chronic shortage of plantation workers in Malaysia may cost palm oil producers about 20 billion ringgit ($4.6 billion) this year, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, curbing supply and potentially boosting global prices. The palm oil sector is seeking help from Malaysia's new government to expedite the process of bringing in more plantation workers, Tek said. [Extracted from the article]

The palm oil sector is seeking help from Malaysia's new government to expedite the process of bringing in more plantation workers, Tek said. Malaysia's palm oil sector is reliant on overseas labor, and has struggled to bring in more workers as movement curbs due to the virus were relaxed. (Bloomberg) -- A chronic shortage of plantation workers in Malaysia may cost palm oil producers about 20 billion ringgit ($4.6 billion) this year, curbing supply and potentially boosting global prices. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Envision AESC, a former battery unit of Nissan Motor Co., is investing $810 million to build a new battery manufacturing plant in Florence, South Carolina, to supply BMW AG. The battery manufacturer will make customized cylindrical lithium-ion cells with a nickel cobalt manganese chemistry for BMW's Neue Klasse, its next generation electric vehicles, at the new plant. [Extracted from the article]

Britain and India launched negotiations for a free trade agreement in January with an aim to conclude the talks by end of October this year. (Bloomberg) -- Talks between India and the UK have hit a snag over easier access to thousands of skilled workers from the South Asian nation that is likely to push finalizing a free trade agreement beyond the October deadline. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand businesses are less pessimistic about the outlook for the economy but remain downbeat about their own trading prospects, according to a third-quarter survey by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research. "The results suggest a period of weaker growth but with a lower risk of the New Zealand economy slipping into recession.". [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Some pharmacies are reporting shortages of Moderna Inc.'s new bivalent booster shot for Covid-19 as one factory used in producing the vaccine remains offline following a safety inspection. As of Sept. 14, the US government had made about 35 million booster shots available for states and jurisdictions to order, of which 30 million were Pfizer's shot and 5 million were Moderna's, according to emails sent to local health departments by HHS. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Some pharmacies are reporting shortages of Moderna Inc.'s new bivalent booster shot for Covid-19 as one factory used in producing the vaccine remains offline following a safety inspection. As of Sept. 14, the US government had made about 35 million booster shots available for states and jurisdictions to order, of which 30 million were Pfizer's shot and 5 million were Moderna's, according to emails sent to local health departments by HHS. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- The long-awaited post-lockdown travel boom is rapidly turning into a bust for holidaymakers as Europe's aviation industry struggles to overcome crippling staff shortages and labor strife, forcing airlines to cancel hundreds of flights ahead of the peak summer period. Air France-KLM was forced to cancel 85 flights in one day due to a strike at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, and many times that number due to snags at Schiphol due to snags at Schiphol. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- China appears to be gradually easing its lockdown of Shanghai, but that won't bring immediate relief to global supply-chain congestion, according to a major shipping company. Shortages of rail, port and trucking workers in China and the US need to get resolved quicker than is currently happening as they are delaying ships at the world's major ports, said Jeremy Nixon, chief executive officer of Ocean Network Express Pte. "Every government is doing their best to address the issue, but labor shortages still exist and infrastructure shortages still exist", Nixon said in an interview Tuesday. [Extracted from the article]

The heads of two of Australia's biggest listed companies have revealed what's top of their wish-list for the country's economy in the run-up to the May 21 election: more people. "With skilled migration at the very low levels it has been for the last couple of years, we have a shortage of labor in Australia and so it's a very hot labor market.". [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia is looking to ease a pandemic-driven labor crunch that has choked its key plantation and manufacturing industries by hastening the hiring of migrant workers. Red-Hot Rally in Palm Oil Reveals Dirty Jobs That No One Wants There are only about 1.17 million registered foreign workers in Malaysia, down from 1.7 million before the pandemic, Saravanan said. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- German joblessness fell for an 11th month as companies struggled to meet demand amid shortages of components and labor. While Thursday's figures suggest the labor market remains in good health, the wider economy is being hit by intensifying logistical constraints and soaring energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. [Extracted from the article]

Meanwhile, buyers in Latin America, the preferred export destination for U.S. refiners in recent years, have had to pay more to remain competitive in international markets. (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. is exporting more diesel than it has in years as buyers in Europe and Latin America vie to secure supplies that have tightened since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. [Extracted from the article]

Moscow Ties Countries, or even regions within countries, that traditionally rely on non-Russian supplies -- either of crude for their refineries or of diesel fuel -- will fare better than those that have strong ties to Moscow. (Bloomberg) -- There's growing anxiety that Europe might run out of diesel following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But it is the eastern part of the country, where refineries process predominantly Russian crude, that would face the greatest pressure if the flow of that oil stopped. [Extracted from the article]

The report was presented in partnership with OneTen, a coalition of major U.S. employers that has promised to help hire and promote 1 million Black workers into higher-paying jobs over the next decade. Employers requesting college degrees for positions that these workers are qualified for are shrinking their potential talent pools, according to Byron Auguste, chief executive officer of Opportunity@Work, a nonprofit group in D.C. that published the study Thursday. (Bloomberg) -- Eliminating stringent job qualifications such as college-degree requirements would ease the U.S. labor shortage and enable millions of skilled Black workers to get higher-paying jobs. [Extracted from the article]

The first wave of recruitment efforts could target nurses, a public-sector job category where numbers have dwindled in recent years, Hummelgaard Thomsen said. (Bloomberg) -- Denmark is planning a recruitment drive in neighboring countries as it fights an increasing lack of qualified labor that risks undermining its economic rebound. The minister said the plan would also target prospective hires in southern Sweden, which borders Copenhagen, for jobs in the service industry, in particular in Denmark's renowned food and restaurant sector. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand's unemployment rate fell to a record low in the fourth quarter amid a labor shortage, adding to signs the economy is overheating. The Reserve Bank began raising its official cash rate in the fourth quarter and economists are forecasting the benchmark may need to be aggressively increased to take stimulus out of the economy. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand's unemployment rate fell to a record low in the fourth quarter amid a labor shortage, adding to signs the economy is overheating. The Reserve Bank began raising its official cash rate in the fourth quarter and economists are forecasting the benchmark may need to be aggressively increased to take stimulus out of the economy. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand's unemployment rate fell to a record low in the fourth quarter amid a labor shortage, adding to signs the economy is overheating. The Reserve Bank began raising its official cash rate in the fourth quarter and economists are forecasting the benchmark may need to be aggressively increased to take stimulus out of the economy. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Increases in prices charged by U.S. companies have grown more widespread, wages are soaring and a majority of firms report shortages of skilled labor, according to a survey by that National Association for Business Economics. Results from the January survey showed a net 53% of respondents said their companies boosted prices in the fourth quarter, the highest in the 40-year history of the group's Business Conditions survey. [Extracted from the article]

The parties also agreed to temporarily set a lower floor to wages for foreign workers to help address labor scarcity in next two years. (Bloomberg) -- Denmark's government secured majority backing for measures to tackle labor shortages that threaten to derail an economic rebound that's eclipsed most rich peers. [Extracted from the article]

The long-term sick, a category that includes the physically disabled, those with chronic illness and people with mental health conditions, pose a particular challenge for employers as they are harder to lure into the workforce than others who have temporarily dropped out. A mental health crisis among working-age Britons made worse by the coronavirus pandemic is driving U.K. labor shortages that are causing severe recruitment difficulties for employers. [Extracted from the article]

Slaughterhouse shutdowns and lack of staff resulted in empty meat coolers at grocery stores, and prices for beef and chicken surged. (Bloomberg) -- Rising infections among workers at North American slaughterhouses due to the omicron variant won't result in major shortages of meat, according to Cargill Inc., a top beef packer and the biggest closely held U.S. company. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Rising infections among workers at North American slaughterhouses due to the omicron variant won't result in shortages of meat, according to Cargill Inc., a top beef packer and the biggest closely held U.S. company. Slaughterhouse shutdowns and lack of staff resulted in empty meat coolers at grocery stores, and prices for beef and chicken surged. [Extracted from the article]

"The lack of supply of materials and equipment is a limitation for many Nordic businesses", Danske said in its Nordic Outlook report. (Bloomberg) -- Danske Bank lowered forecasts for next year's economic growth across the Nordics, as supply chain constraints and labor shortages could impede the region's rebound. [Extracted from the article]

Read More: The Bank of England Needs One Million Missing Workers to Return U.K. Labor Market Strengthens With Record Jump in Employment U.K. Warned of "Unsustainable" Shortage of Workers as Pay Soars ©2021 Bloomberg L.P. Keywords: ALLTOP; BUSINESS; COS; EUROPE; EURTOP; FRX; GOV; MARKETS; UK; WORLD; WWTOP; WWTOPEU EN ALLTOP BUSINESS COS EUROPE EURTOP FRX GOV MARKETS UK WORLD WWTOP WWTOPEU (Bloomberg) -- The sheer number of people who have left the U.K. workforce since the pandemic struck is leaving companies struggling to find the staff they need. [Extracted from the article]

Mexico isplanning on making the case for a major guest workerprogram in the U.S. to alleviate some of that pressureduring the trilateral meeting, according to one Mexicanofficial with direct knowledge of the matter who askednot to be named discussing internal policies. (Bloomberg) -- Days before the Three Amigos summit inWashington, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has anew pitch for his plan to have the U.S. greatly expandmigrant visas: North America desperately needs workersand Mexico has them in spades. [Extracted from the article]

Robots may replace us eventually, but for now Covid-19 has revealed both how desperate businesses are for workers of the human variety and the broader economic consequences of that desperation. Meanwhile, Moscow-based reporter Áine Quinn finds Russia's labor shortage more easily explained. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., a cargo broker that manages $26 billion of freight for its customers, is seeing labor shortages contribute to delays at every hand-off point in the supply chain, Chief Executive Officer Bob Biesterfeld said. "We've got record low labor participation rates right now, and you couple that with very, very strong demand and changing demand patterns", Biesterfeld said Wednesday in an interview. [Extracted from the article]

But high materials costs, unpredictable supply-chain delays and labor shortages have strained builders' ability to keep up with still-solid demand in more recent months. (Bloomberg) -- U.S. housing starts decreased in September, driven by a pullback in multifamily construction, as lingering supply-chain constraints, shortages of skilled labor and elevated materials costs continue to challenge builders. Cheap borrowing costs and a pandemic-fueled migration to the suburbs supported housing demand and construction through late 2020 and earlier this year. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: RMG@LN; BUSINESS; CMD; COS; EUROPE; FRA; GER; GOV; INDUSTRIAL; INDUSTRIES; NRG; TRN; UK; WORLD EN RMG@LN BUSINESS CMD COS EUROPE FRA GER GOV INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIES NRG TRN UK WORLD Royal Mail Plc is struggling to hire workers at its European parcel operations and signaled rising energy costs in Britain are also set to limit earnings growth. QZVWAZT0G1L1 (Bloomberg) - Royal Mail Plc is struggling to hire workers at its European parcel operations and signaled rising energy costs in Britain are also set to limit earnings growth. [Extracted from the article]

Cost pressures in Britain are expected to rise as Royal Mail begins hiring temporary staff for the festive season, when letter and package deliveries peak, a spokeswoman said. Keywords: RMG@LN; ALLTOP; BUSINESS; CMD; COS; EUROPE; FRA; GER; GOV; INDUSTRIAL; INDUSTRIES; NRG; TRN; UK; WORLD; WWTOP; WWTOPEU EN RMG@LN ALLTOP BUSINESS CMD COS EUROPE FRA GER GOV INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIES NRG TRN UK WORLD WWTOP WWTOPEU Royal Mail Plc said it's struggling to hire delivery workers and sorting staff for the busy holiday season, while rising energy costs are also weighing on profit. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- FedEx Corp. slid the most in 18 months as a labor shortage that's driving up costs showed no sign of letting up. Illustrating its problems plaguing the package giant, a Ground unit sorting hub in Portland, Oregon, is only staffed at 65% because of the labor pinch, Chief Operating Officer Raj Subramaniam said on a call with analysts Tuesday evening. [Extracted from the article]

Caterpillar Inc., a machinery maker, is facing supply chain challenges due to a labor shortage among its suppliers. The company's CEO, Jim Umpleby, stated that while Caterpillar has not experienced significant labor shortages internally, many of its suppliers are struggling to find workers. This shortage is contributing to delays in delivery times. The labor shortage is a result of the rapid economic recovery following the pandemic, which has left many businesses understaffed. Caterpillar has responded by adding jobs and offering competitive pay, but it continues to face challenges in meeting demand. The company plans to offset rising raw material costs by increasing prices on its equipment. [Extracted from the article]

With the supply of candidates falling at a record pace, that's fueling a rapid escalation of wages as firms scramble to fill vacancies left by immigrants from EU countries. But despite pay increases and sign-on bonuses, there isn't a ready stream of U.K. workers to fill the void. [Extracted from the article]

Over the summer, Britain's horticulture farmers were short of 40,000 seasonal workers, even after the U.K. government granted 30,000 visas. (Bloomberg) -- The head of the U.K.'s biggest business lobby criticized the government over labor shortages that are disrupting supply chains, warning they could last for as long as two years and harm the post-pandemic recovery. [Extracted from the article]

Deere has been working with Bear Flag since 2019 as partof a company program to work with startups that could addvalue for Deere customers, the company said. (Bloomberg) -- John Deere, the world's biggest tractormaker, will acquire autonomous driving technology startupBear Flag Robotics for $250 million, a bet that farmingwill continue becoming more automated. [Extracted from the article]

Here's the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the week. (Bloomberg) -- Sign up for the New Economy Daily newsletter, follow us @economics and subscribe to our podcast. [Extracted from the article]

The report was based on information collected by the Fed's 12 regionalbanks through July 2 and compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank ofBoston. "All districts noted an increased use of non-wage cash incentives toattract and retain workers", the Fed said in the Beige Book. (Bloomberg) -- The pace of the U.S. recovery picked up in the past twomonths, though reopening the economy from the Covid-19 pandemiccreated increasing strains in attracting workers and filling orders, theFederal Reserve said. [Extracted from the article]