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Source: https://www.ajc.com/ajcjobs/employe...g-to-find-workers/VU7GFRW4K5F4JINJFNP5DL3534/
Employers are hiring again but struggling to find workers
| April 16, 2021
By Michael E. Kanell, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some blame jobless benefits, but other factors also at play
Chris New said he has turned down $250,000 in business because he just can?t hire enough laborers and drivers at his Carrollton-based company, Barnes Van Lines.
There are plenty of people without jobs, but unemployment benefits give them too much incentive not to work, he said. ?We advertise and nobody comes in looking for a job. A lot of people are taking advantage of the system. It?s really killing us.?
After previous recessions, unemployed workers would pour off the sidelines to jostle for jobs. Not this time ? at least not yet.
Expert say the reasons are complicated. Heightened federal unemployment benefits play a role. Many parents also need to be home with children and many fear a still-spreading virus that has killed more than 17,000 in Georgia. Many of the unemployed are from sectors not yet hiring or businesses that have not re-opened, and their skills don?t fit job openings.
But no doubt, there?s a discord between the estimated 400,000 Georgians receiving jobless benefits and the surge in job openings that are going unfilled. The state?s Department of Labor website listed 98,101 job openings in July compared with about 220,000 now.
With COVID-19 vaccinations rolling out, the economy is growing and companies are hiring, especially in tech. But it is proving hard to fill the modestly paid jobs that cannot be done at home.
Some employers are raising wages. Uber offers a $1,000 ?sign-on? bonus to become a driver. Pilgrim?s Pride in Georgia touts bonuses up to $2,000 for jobs in poultry plants.
Barnes Van Lines wants to hire eight laborers at $14 an hour, as well as drivers: two for smaller trucks at $17 an hour and four for tractor-trailers at $25 an hour...
Employers are hiring again but struggling to find workers
| April 16, 2021
By Michael E. Kanell, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some blame jobless benefits, but other factors also at play
Chris New said he has turned down $250,000 in business because he just can?t hire enough laborers and drivers at his Carrollton-based company, Barnes Van Lines.
There are plenty of people without jobs, but unemployment benefits give them too much incentive not to work, he said. ?We advertise and nobody comes in looking for a job. A lot of people are taking advantage of the system. It?s really killing us.?
After previous recessions, unemployed workers would pour off the sidelines to jostle for jobs. Not this time ? at least not yet.
Expert say the reasons are complicated. Heightened federal unemployment benefits play a role. Many parents also need to be home with children and many fear a still-spreading virus that has killed more than 17,000 in Georgia. Many of the unemployed are from sectors not yet hiring or businesses that have not re-opened, and their skills don?t fit job openings.
But no doubt, there?s a discord between the estimated 400,000 Georgians receiving jobless benefits and the surge in job openings that are going unfilled. The state?s Department of Labor website listed 98,101 job openings in July compared with about 220,000 now.
With COVID-19 vaccinations rolling out, the economy is growing and companies are hiring, especially in tech. But it is proving hard to fill the modestly paid jobs that cannot be done at home.
Some employers are raising wages. Uber offers a $1,000 ?sign-on? bonus to become a driver. Pilgrim?s Pride in Georgia touts bonuses up to $2,000 for jobs in poultry plants.
Barnes Van Lines wants to hire eight laborers at $14 an hour, as well as drivers: two for smaller trucks at $17 an hour and four for tractor-trailers at $25 an hour...