Battle of the Benefits: Target and Walmart offer to pay 100% of college tuition for workers

Textbooks cost more than the MacBook... At least they double as a door jammer. College education in the US is notoriously pricey. To ease the burden, Walmart and Target are offering free college tuition to their workers.

• Walmart is offering 100% of tuition and book fees to 1.5M associates at 10 universities. It's allocating $1B over five years to cover career development offerings.
• Target is offering paid tuition and textbooks to its 340K full and part-time workers. They'll have access to 250 (mostly online) programs offered by about 40 colleges.

Two birds, one scone... It's no coincidence that two of America's largest retailers are upping their benefits now. The labor market is tight, so companies are sweetening the pot to attract workers. Covid fears, child care needs, and boosted unemployment benefits have prevented some employees from returning. Unemployment is still higher than pre-pandemic levels — but there are way more jobs than job seekers.

• Record openings: Your local bistro wants its waiters back. Job openings surged above 10M for the first time ever in June, as employers scrambled to hire while the economy reopened.
• Record wages: The average pay for US supermarket and restaurant workers topped $15/hour for the first time.