Boston Herald

THE WORKFORCE IS WAITING

Over 300G set to lose unemployme­nt benefits with labor shortage alive

- By Amy Sokolow

As nearly 304,000 Bay Staters lose $300 in weekly federal unemployme­nt benefits — a “lifeline” for many Massachuse­tts residents — local retailers hope this expiration of benefits will help small businesses fill jobs.

“We’ve already seen a number of small businesses close their doors permanentl­y,” said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Associatio­n of Massachuse­tts, of the labor shortage’s effects. “What happens over the course of the next four months through the holidays will determine whether there’ll be more small business closures come January and February.”

The situation for small businesses began improving in June when Massachuse­tts implemente­d a job search requiremen­t for folks to continue collecting unemployme­nt, Hurst said, but the labor shortage from multiple COVID-related factors put strain on businesses from end to end.

“That’s also hurting the seller at the consumer level because the choices are less, prices are higher, and service is not at an optimum level,” he said. “All those factors are making it, frankly, a bit of a tenuous situation.”

Data from the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Developmen­t has shown that while the state unemployme­nt rate hovers just under 5% as of July, the distributi­on of the unemployed is uneven.

While the number of those seeking employment in food preparatio­n exceeds the number of jobs threefold, for example, the inverse is true in sectors like health care and computeran­d mathematic­al-related jobs.

The unemployme­nt rate also varies widely by race:

It’s 12.5% for Latinos, and 11.1% for Black Bay Staters.

A study by Harvard-run Opportunit­y Insights showed that while those earning over $60,000 in Massachuse­tts saw a 2% drop in employment since the pandemic began through November, those earning under $27,000 saw a 29% drop.

A spokespers­on from the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Developmen­t said that the number of people collecting unemployme­nt plateaued around midsummer, and speculated that job seekers could be waiting until benefits expire, until children go back to school, or until the impact of the delta variant of COVID-19 subsides to go back to work.

Now that these are becoming realities, Hurst said, “I think there’ll be more people looking and feeling more comfortabl­e and back into the workforce.”

The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Developmen­t began preemptive­ly addressing the stoppage of unemployme­nt benefits last month by holding a historical­ly large job fair with over 17,000 attendees.

The Baker administra­tion also announced a $240 million workforce developmen­t program to address the longer-term challenges of matching the workforce’s skills to the jobs needed. The program aims to train over 52,000 unemployed and underemplo­yed workers in in-demand fields over the next three years.

Despite the skills gap, Hurst is optimistic that those soon to lose their benefits can find work.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find any industry that is fully staffed right now,” he said. “Anybody that really wants to find work and is serious about it, there are opportunit­ies out there for them.”

 ?? Ap File ?? NOW HIRING EVERYWHERE: A hiring sign is displayed outside a retail store in Buffalo Grove, Ill. on June 24. President of the Retailers Associatio­n of Massachuse­tts Jon Hurst said ‘you’d be hard-pressed to find any industry that is fully staffed right now’ as the labor shortage overlaps with unemployme­nt expiration­s.
Ap File NOW HIRING EVERYWHERE: A hiring sign is displayed outside a retail store in Buffalo Grove, Ill. on June 24. President of the Retailers Associatio­n of Massachuse­tts Jon Hurst said ‘you’d be hard-pressed to find any industry that is fully staffed right now’ as the labor shortage overlaps with unemployme­nt expiration­s.

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