The worker shortage has created a new job market practice previously reserved for top executives, professional athletes or special workers—the signing bonus, writes Christian Hetrick for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The signing bonus is now being offered to dishwashers, day care teachers and gas station attendants.

Locally, Wawa is giving $500 new-hire bonuses for customer service, gas attendant, and night supervisor jobs.

“Our goal with these incentives is to encourage new associates to give us a try, get to know us and experience our culture and realize the growth and development opportunities we have available,” said Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce.

It’s brought in many more applicants, 9,800 in the past few months, well above the 5,000 targeted.

“With this job market, a sign-on bonus is something that is certainly an easy ask for the employee and is something that more and more employers are ready to do, because they’re desperate,” said Brian Clapp, president of CCI Consulting in Blue Bell.

But some industries aren’t seeing much response.  Only 21 percent of local restaurant workers felt signing bonuses were important.  More attractive were health benefits and paid time off, according to 81 percent of those same workers.

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer about signing bonuses.  

This Wall Street Journal video report talks about the labor shortage and hiring incentives like signing bonuses.

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