In May of this year, despite the unemployment rate being 5.8 percent, companies are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with other companies seeking employees with similar skills and experience. In response, these companies have introduced incentives ranging from education subsidies and enhanced training programs to free hotel rooms and appetizers. Even with the addition of these new incentives, monetary compensation incentives are not going out of style. Companies are offering bonuses for new hires and employees who stay with the company as well as hourly rate increases. The competition for new hires and reducing turnover has forced companies to become creative and think “more holistically about their employees and their goals.”
See "In the wake of COVID-19, companies are turning toward unconventional incentive programs to draw in applicants and retain employees", Nelson D. Schwartz, The New York Times, June 8, 2021