U.S. factories desperate for workers, even as ranks of jobless remains high

Matt Arnold just spent Sh539,523 ($5,000) to run help-wanted ads for his company’s five trailer factories scattered from Pennsylvania to Utah.

“We hired two from the ads,” said Arnold, just a fraction of the 125 he needs to get back to full strength of 673 workers. Half the welding jobs at his Texas plant are open, for instance, creating a bottleneck in an operation that builds trailers on metal frames.