Neel Kashkari is suggesting that firms complaining about worker shortages should try paying more to get more of this currently scarce resource:

Companies should try digging in their pockets if they’re looking to find workers for unfilled jobs, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said Tuesday.

With the unemployment rate falling to its lowest level in 49 years, there are nearly 1 million more job openings than available workers, according to the Labor Department. Even though payrolls have been growing at a solid clip, complaints persist from companies that they are having a hard time finding qualified workers to fill positions because of a skills gap.

Kashkari, though, said he doesn’t completely buy the argument that there aren’t enough bodies out there.

“I oftentimes hear businesses saying I just can’t find the workers that I need,” the central bank official said during a conference on immigration in his home district. “Now, I’m not entirely sympathetic with that view, because I’ve been saying you should try paying more, and you may be able to attract more workers.”

This is literally the first time that I’ve ever heard a mainstream economist acknowledge this basic fact.