Shortages (noun) LACK, DEFICIT

Synonyms: deficiency, deficit, drought, inadequacy, insufficiency, lack, undersupply 

Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shortages#synonyms 

Article: Nierenberg, Amelia (2021), Schools Struggle to Serve Lunch

Quote from article: “Widespread labor shortages have rocked food distributors and manufacturers, and there aren’t enough workers to pull products from warehouses, staff assembly lines or drive trucks.”

My thoughts/interpretation: When you don’t have enough people working or willing to work causing shortages in the labor departments and can throw a whole process of and impact so many people.