9 News: Here's why industries across Colorado are facing staffing shortages

Published: 10:17 PM MDT September 22, 2021

Updated: 9:43 AM MDT September 23, 2021

So you’re probably wondering: why are there so many open jobs and so few people wanting to fill them?

To find an answer, we asked three economy and labor experts: Curtis Graves with the Employers Council; Kishore Kulkarni, a Distinguished Professor of Economics at MSU Denver; and Mac Clouse, a Professor of Finance at the University of Denver. 

They all agree on one thing: this isn't normal. 

"I’ve never seen anything like this," Graves said. 

"We have never, ever seen anything like this," Kulkarni said. 

"This is pretty unusual," Clouse said. 

So this isn’t normal, but this past year wasn’t either. 

Here are some reasons we’re seeing so many open jobs, according to Graves, Kulkarni and Clouse.