Economics at the micro level

Colby Cosh discusses the real-world situation in Fort McMurray:

Some of you may have noticed that "shortage" is in quotes there, for the sake of good economic form. In an imaginary, perfect labour market with low-to-nil transaction costs, the phrase "labour shortage" is shorthand for "cheap-ass employers." The theoretical answer to a labour shortage (and very often the real answer) is simple: offer better wages. In Fort McMurray the real world's nonzero transaction costs and the sticky-fying effects of labour regulation and trade barriers create what can be called a genuine labour shortage.