Since March of 2020, COVID-19 has vastly changed our world. From the way we shop to the way we operate our businesses in our communities, COVID-19 has played a role in the forever changes. Now more than a year later, communities are attempting to pick up the scattered pieces and rebuild. One trend that is observable across industries is the lack of ability to attract talent that is qualified and retaining them. But why? With an unemployment rate of 6 percent nationally, shouldn’t there be a plethora of eager, talented, and qualified individuals?
Blue-collar talent has become increasingly hard to find. Despite the qualified candidates who were in the workforce previous to COVID-19, skilled tradespeople are becoming deterred from the workforce as a direct result of the government funds they are receiving. With the amount of assistance readily available, individuals can take home more funds and live more comfortably off of the unemployment, stimulus, and government assistance than they would if they had a typical minimum wage or skilled trade job. This creates inequality in the supply and demand for workers and open positions making it harder and harder for communities to rebuild in a post-COVID-19 landscape.
The Conference Board explores likely outcomes for future labor markets globally and reports in one of their latest case studies that this talent shortage in labor industries may continue through 2030. A few factors contribute to this in addition to the byproduct of the COVID-19 Pandemic. First, the generational cohort that makes up a vast majority of the typical skilled trades industry, the Baby Boomers, are retiring and leaving the workforce every day. This combined with the rate of young adults in Generation Z who are not choosing to pursue trades is additionally adding to the unbalanced supply and demand in the skilled trades industries.
As a business owner or hiring manager, you may be wondering what is the solution? Staffing can help your business combat this phenomenon. By outsourcing your staffing needs, the responsibility of searching for, onboarding, and retaining talented and qualified candidates is relinquished but more importantly, your potential reach to candidates is significantly increased. Staffing services add value, organization, and a streamlined approach to the business of finding and retaining qualified employees, and much more. Performance Staffing Solutions is here to help you with all of your business needs. To get connected with us today fill out this form!
