Labor Shortage and its Causes and What the Future Might Hold
How is the Labor Shortage Affecting Your Business? And, What Might be Behind It?
I have a small business, you have a business, or you’re trying to buy something that is out of stock. As we all know by now, the almost-two-year-old pandemic has caused disruptions in manufacturing, the supply chain, product outages, education, and childcare. It’s affected nearly every aspect of our economy. The labor shortage has only added to the afore-mentioned challenges.
In our business, our Colorado manufacturer had to wait months for parts to complete our order of our new multi-directional Hand Truck 360 Pro Premiums. Our cost went up as the price of steel skyrocketed. Business without much of an inventory to sell is just treading water. But, like most of you, we believe in what value our products provide for our customers, so we continue on.
Do you have the Labor Shortage Woes?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you are not alone. “The unemployment rate declined by .03 percentage points to 3.9 percent in December (2021)…”1 (4% in January 2022)
Small businesses might be most affected, with 87% of those answering a Goldman Sachs survey reporting difficulties filling open positions. Small businesses are also hurt also by not being able to offer the benefits of a larger corporation.
"Approaching the second anniversary of the onset of the pandemic, it is abundantly clear that small business owners across the country are facing more challenges than ever and simply cannot catch a break," said Jessica Johnson-Cope, chair of Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses Voices National Leadership Council and president of Johnson Security Bureau in New York City. "The relentless pressures to pivot brought by this never-ending pandemic, coupled with the difficult labor market, inflation and supply chain constraints are all pushing small businesses to the brink." 2
Future Employment Outlook
The unemployment picture isn’t going to get a lot better in the future. When the pandemic eases, are we really going to get back to the old normal?
“Baby Boomers are retiring and millennials are approaching middle age and the forecast in July that the size of the U.S. labor force will grow by a mere 0.2% a year from2024 to 2031. Employers can’t count on a flood of new workers to fill empty jobs.”3
Robots and technological advances can help, but there still is the “last mile” that for the foreseeable future will need humans with the right equipment to help companies save time and money.
What can a business do?
McKinsey and Company, long-time respected consulting firm, in their blog “The future of work: Seizing the opportunities of the new normal” makes the following recommendations that can apply to both businesses and team members:4
1) Find deeper meaning in your work— “…why the organization exists should serve as a north star to guide or reinforce critical business decisions, like the allocation of capital, employee experience, and workforce choices (e.g. hiring, reskilling/upskilling) programs).”
2) Put your workforce first— “…Employees now can expect much more from their employers and will engage, or disengage, depending on how their needs are met… Organizations should consider moving away from hiring based on educational credentials, and instead embrace a skills-based approach… “
3) Make the workplace a vehicle for your people and values— “…The new workplace, whatever form it takes, can bring out the best in employees by providing them what is best for them. In turn, this pays dividends with increased productivity and customer satisfaction.
4) Our thoughts… provide your team members with the tools necessary to make their jobs easier and safer while increasing productivity. Whether it’s The Hand Truck Company’s Hand Truck 360 Pro Premium that allows one person to do the moving job of two, or another company’s premium tool that benefits both your company and your team member, take care of your workforce and they’ll take care of you.
Conclusion
No one has escaped the ravages of the pandemic. Supply chain issues will affect us all for months to come. Worker shortages will continue into the future.
What we all can do is not just talk about the values of our companies but act upon them daily.
Our customers’ front-line employees had to be there every day loading trucks, delivering products, moving products in the warehouse or on the manufacturing floor. Those companies that put the safety and well-being of their team members first and provided them with the tools they need for the job, mostly kept their teams intact. Some people retired, some moved on to other jobs but most believed in and trusted their employers and the values of their company to work on.
I hope that this blog was helpful. If you have any questions or comments or if you would like to meet on a Zoom call, please contact me at judy@thehandtruckcompany.com or call 719-671-3566. The Hand Truck Company will work with you to find the right safety and productivity solution for your business and team members
For a kind of fun article on the “History of the Wheel and the Hand Truck”, check out our blog at https://www.thehandtruckcompany.com/blog
1 https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
2 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-small-businesses-inflation-supply-chain-recruiting-federal-aid/
3 https://www.axios.com/labor-shortage-work-jobs-data-f925f6b3-0f59-4cda-8603-6cd77aa1288f.htm
