Some Indiana businesses are suffering because they can’t find people to work. But, that problem likely won’t be solved by cutting off federal unemployment benefits. The labor shortage started before the pandemic, said Gerry Dick, with Inside Indiana Business.
“A lot of these business owners are putting as bit of the blame on those extended unemployment benefits. If you can make more money by not working, that’s what those folks are opting to do,” said Dick, talking with WIBC’s Tony Katz. “But, don’t forget heading into the pandemic we were talking frequently about this labor shortage.”
Dick said some of the blame is on not having enough people trained for the right jobs. So, the state may be looking to speak to people who are just getting old enough to work.
“A new effort is focuses on what’s being termed ‘Indiana’s emerging workforce’, that 18 to 34-year-old worker, those younger workers,” he said. The effort is to help get them connected with training and jobs.
But, Dick said the shortage is having an immediate impact, with some businesses closing because they can’t find enough workers.
“You get into the higher wage jobs, some of the advanced manufacturing and advanced distribution, where you do need technical training. That’s a big concern and those are good-paying jobs.”
Je said one of the dangers is that companies and people with money to invest could look somewhere else if Indiana isn’t providing sufficiently.
“If they can’t find the workforce here in Indiana, certainly they’ll go to where they can find the work force to make that investment.”
4 comments
The labor shortage from before the pandemic started was due to the Trump economy. So far, Biden has unraveled every single policy that made the Trump economy thrive that could be undone without a congressional vote. It is HIGHLY unlikely that the Biden economy will face a labor shortage once the extended Federal benefits expire. If anything, Biden’s war on capitalism is going to kill more jobs than Obama and Carter did.
Welcome to the New Normal.
Exactly, Welcome Back Carter…only worse.
Why are they ending pandemic relief programs when the pandemic is still raging? Who are these democrats who claim to be for the working class who are about to throw 20 million unemployed Americans off a cliff in September, seemingly when the Delta wave is going to be at it’s peak?
Because the longer you pay people to sit home and do nothing, the worse the devastation to our economy. We are already seeing inflation climbing because of all the free money. This happens every time government decouples money from value of production.
Those 20 million unemployed Americans are unemployed by choice at this point. Everyone needs to stop believing the fearmongering.