> It reads like some businesses had to increase wages to retain employees but this doesn't seem to be causative as these employees were asking for higher wages

> It reads like some businesses had to increase wages to retain employees but this doesn't seem to be causative as these employees were asking for higher wages because of the increased cost of living, not the other way around. This is backwards. No business increases wages because employees ask for it. Employees always ask for higher wages. Wages go up when you can't find workers for lower wages.