US labor shortage worsens amid surging COVID-19 infections: FT

LONDON - Businesses across the United States are struggling to remain fully staffed as the rising COVID-19 infections have resulted in many of their staff being ill or quarantined at home, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

A large number of US businesses are temporarily closing or adjusting work hours as the number of Americans infected with coronavirus reaches an all-time high, the report noted.

Airlines, retailers, restaurants, hospitals and school districts are among those facing a critical staffing shortage, it added.

Over 5 million Americans, or 2 percent of the country's total workforce, could be isolating at home this week, it said, citing an analysis by Andrew Hunter, senior US economist at Capital Economics.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 60 million on Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.