West Virginia ’ s Battle With Worker Shortages
JOHN DESKINS , PH . D .
As we continue to recover from the severe recession brought on by COVID-19 , some unexpected economic challenges have emerged that are placing new stress on our nation ’ s economy . I write to consider one such challenge : widespread worker shortages .
Over the last year , it has become readily apparent that widespread job vacancies have appeared , creating a variety of issues ranging from minor inconveniences in some places to severe challenges in others . To illustrate , the job openings rate in West Virginia , which represents job openings as a share of total filled jobs plus job openings , now stands at just over 7 %. This means that employers are currently unable to find the workers to fill over 7 % of all the positions they need to fully operate . This represents a substantial increase in this figure , which typically ranged between 3-5 % in West Virginia in the decade leading up to the COVID-19 recession . Although this is a national problem , the job openings rate in West Virginia is slightly above the national figure .
Fortunately , not every sector of the economy has been significantly affected by this worker shortage . National data show that the shortages are most pronounced in the super sectors of trade , transportation and utilities ; leisure and hospitality ; health care ; and other services . The trade , transportation and utilities sector includes retail jobs , and the leisure and hospitality sector includes restaurant jobs — two areas where worker shortages are visible to everyone . The sector economists term “ other services ” includes several service industries that involve close , in-person contact . Job openings in the health care sector are understandable given the immense stress workers in that area have faced over the past two years .
Many of these job openings are some of the lowest paid positions in our economy . This is understandable , given that workers farther down the corporate ladder are often tapped to fill a higher position in the same company or industry , leaving the lower-paid positions vacant . This also matches with the noticeable jump in the quits rate that we have observed in recent months . This statistic captures the number of workers who quit their current job each month as a share of total employment . However , this trend also shows the disruptions in our economy go beyond the positions that are currently open directly .
One of the biggest questions facing economists today is , “ Where did the workers go ?”
One reasonable hypothesis is the possibility that many of the men and women who left the workforce are receiving
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Job Openings Rate , Total Nonfarm Employment
Job openings rate , openings as a share of employment + openings (%)
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Source : John Chambers College of Business and Economics . |
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