This Month in Labor: September 2021
Welcome to “This Month in Labor,” nGROUP’s survey of the latest news and trends in the US labor market.
As we passed through August, we gained more perspective on where the economy is after more than a year of Covid-related shutdowns and recessions. The news is, for the most part, encouraging. Workers in the United States are getting back into the workplace in huge numbers, opening up the prospect for a “recovered” economy later this summer.
First, some employment numbers:
#1 – Employment Numbers Remain Concerning
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/09/03/business/economy-stock-market-news#august-2021-jobs-report
After a strong rebound in the early summer months, hiring numbers dramatically slowed in August. More than 900,000 jobs were added in both June and July, but that figure dropped to 235,000 in August.
Normally, 235,000 jobs added in a month would have been an indicator of a healthy economy. But with 8 million people still without work — and compared to the red-hot job market of just a few months ago — the employment news in August was definitely concerning.
The most obvious problem impacting these numbers is the Delta variant. With virus cases making a resurgence, some all-too-human worry and caution may have changed hiring practices. Perhaps not surprisingly, jobs which require facetime with customers suffered most. Leisure and hospitality hiring remained flat (after strong summer gains), and retail positions actually declined by 29,000.
Although the overall unemployment number dropped slightly — from 5.4% in July to 5.2% now — we’re still a long way off from pre-pandemic employment. And although economists predict the economy to keep growing, this is nonetheless a troubling time to see job hirings slow down.
#2 – Supply Chain Jobs Grew Over the Summer
https://resources.simossolutions.com/latest-content/simostopjobsapril
As the pandemic continues to stifle normal life, it has led to changes in economic priorities. Some of the most sought-after workers these days are those that work in the supply chain. Whether it be associates in outgoing production lines, supervisors in reverse logistics, or transportation and safety coordinators, the supply chain has an enormous need for new people.
Some of the positions making the biggest leaps in 2021 include:
- Vaccine-related work, including distribution and logistics
- Food Production, Quality Control, and Packaging
- Air Cargo, Mail Distribution, and Airline Catering
- Automobile Assembly Line and Production
- Returns, Packing, and Sorting
- Janitorial, Hygiene, and Housekeeping
- Materials Handling and Distribution
- Warehouse
- Logistics and Transportation
#3 – An American Manufacturing Renaissance?
https://www.fictiv.com/ebooks/2021-state-of-manufacturing
Finally, let’s turn to some good news. This time, it’s about the state of manufacturing here in the US.
Like companies in other labor-intensive sectors, manufacturing firms experienced a wild 2020. But, as is made clear in the 2021 State of Manufacturing report from Fictiv, those firms are responding to last year’s insanity with responsible measures. These measures could even be the stepping stones to a new renaissance of American manufacturing.
Unsurprisingly, a huge percentage of manufacturers expressed serious concerns about the resilience of their supply chains. Encouragingly, nearly 70% of respondents said increasing supply chain durability was their top priority for 2021. At the same time, more than half said they were stepping up efforts to improve their ability to innovate their products in case of future disruptions.
Not only are manufacturers trying to increase resiliency and agility, they see the need to change with the times more than ever. Nearly everyone identified digital transformation as a vital ingredient in future success, with 77% saying their investment in that digital future was either significant or dramatic.
Just as “of the times”: some 40% of respondents said they were prioritizing lower carbon footprints. Fictiv posits this priority could have a lot to do with the desire to avoid other major (environmental) disasters in the future.
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We help you find enough great people so your shifts are always full. We provide on-site management to relieve your team and guide those teams to maximize their production while keeping costs low. We combine in-house technology with engineering expertise, making it easier to achieve greater operational efficiency.
If you suffer from labor management headaches — if you and your team are stretched to the limit by labor-related problems — give us a call today. We help retail distribution, wholesale distribution, reverse logistics, fresh food production, and light manufacturing operations gain an edge by providing and managing a more cost-effective, productive labor force.
Don’t let labor headaches drag you down. Call nGROUP today, and find the cure.
