Have jobs, need people: Area's labor shortage is real
WOO COVER
According to data from OhioMeansJobs, there has been a steady growth in job postings in Wayne County since 2019 — a 65% increase in two years.
The labor shortage in Wayne and Holmes counties is very evident right now. It seems everyone from employers to the Chambers of Commerce and various job-support agencies are all talking about the urgency of the situation and how they can fill numerous open positions with qualified employees.
But, as always, the devil is in the details. Which industries are being impacted the most? How severe is the problem? And how are employers responding?
There is not enough data, particularly at the local level, to fully analyze all the factors that are contributing to the labor shortage. But there are some local sources of data and also the perspectives of several local economic development experts.
Unemployment trends
For starters, consider both Holmes and Wayne counties have had among the lowest unemployment rates in Ohio for several years.
“The (monthly) unemployment rate is always cyclical; it always goes up in January and goes down into June,” said Richard Owens, director at Wayne County Department of Job and Family Services.
Holmes County has had even lower unemployment rates recently, despite the county bumping up to an unemployment rate of 5.8% in May 2020. That number quickly went back to 2.6% in May 2021.
Other points to consider with respect to unemployment:
—The group with the highest unemployment rate in Wayne and Holmes counties was 25- to 34-year-olds, according to a March 2021 report by GROW Licking County Community Improvement Corporation.
—The deadline for receiving additional unemployment benefits was June 26 in Ohio, and those were likely to only affect the behaviors of those earning $32,000 or less a year, according to the Bank of America.
The labor pool
As of May 2021, the Wayne and Holmes combined labor force was 76,500 people, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“(The BLS report) showed a significant drop this month,” Owens said. “The entire labor force has shrunk by 4,000 in Wayne County. It's too early to know why this number dropped so much.”
There are several possible reasons for the drop, none of which are certain. Did 4,000 workers exit from the labor force? Did they move or open their own business? Often jobs filled by sole proprietors are not adequately represented by the BLS data.
Despite the questions around the data, the numbers still are useful as a conversation starter around how to best support businesses as they aim to fill their vacancies.
According to a 2019 report by Team NEO, part of the solution is aligning opportunities between skills and job markets, making closing the skill gap a top priority for all Northeast Ohio.
From this perspective, the current labor shortage is probably more severe in part because it comes on top of the existing skill gap issue.
“What I’m hearing anecdotally from employers, in past years they would hear from people who want to work for them but didn't have the skill set. Now, in some cases, they are not even getting applications at all,” Owens said.
Job postings — what’s available?
According to data from OhioMeansJobs, there has been a steady growth in job postings in Wayne County since 2019 — a 65% increase in two years.
A similar trend has been observed in Holmes County.
“We have a lot of companies that are growing,” said Mark Leininger, executive director of the Holmes County Economic Development Council. "Demand for products has continued to increase, and so as you try to increase production, you typically end up adding positions. And that exacerbates the shortage.
"There are companies that I have worked with in the six years I have worked here, and in that short time, many have done five to six expansions. Food processing, outdoor furniture — we have seen growth in a number of different sectors.”
Further, not all the postings are for entry-level positions.
“There are opportunities available from entry level to executive and everything in between,” said Lori Reinbolt, the president of the Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Samira Zimmerly, the president of the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce, said the employment shortage is across the spectrum concerning the size of companies.
“Some of the newer positions that are coming on board are in production, and there are a lot of companies struggling to fill those positions," Zimmerly said. "We're also hearing from our members that it's really anything from a one-two person shop to the larger employers.”
Employers adapting
“We provide job-posting services for the OhioMeansJobs.com database," said Crystal Brown, workforce administrator with OhioMeansJobs Wayne County. "So we get to see a lot of the behind-the-scenes on the pay range. We're seeing a significant number of employers offering sign-on bonuses, and we have seen a significant increase in wages."
“Companies have had to get creative with ways to not only attract people, but to retain the employees they have," Zimmerly said. "I talked to one employee whose competitor has gone to his employees and offered them jobs. So the employer has had to offer an increase in pay and benefits to retain his existing employees.”
Again, the trends are similar in Holmes County.
“I'm hearing from manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and hospitality services, 'We don't have enough workers,'" said Tiffany Gerber, executive director of the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau. "Our businesses have been very proactive in adjusting their wages, adjusting their benefits. But when you add in the challenges of COVID, current policies and then add that to the limited workforce that is out there, it's going to have to be commuter-based."
The short and the long of it
With so many factors, how long the area's labor shortage will last is difficult to predict.
“We've heard about a lot of mothers who decided not to work during the pandemic due to the kids doing remote learning and lack of daycare options. It will be interesting to see what happens in the fall when hopefully things will improve even more," Zimmerly said. "Housing has been a huge issue, and recently with new developments going in, that will help with the employment situation by bringing more people into the community."
“Basically, everyone here in Holmes County who wants to work and can work is," Leininger said. "So if we need additional bodies for positions, they either need to come from outside of the county, or we need to find different ways to get the job done without additional employees. I wish there was some immediate relief that can be offered, but I haven't been able to figure it out.”