Page 14 - BusinessWest July 25, 2022
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where we would like them to, and more impor- tantly, they’re not aligned where most industries and employers thought they would be at this point post-pandemic, whatever post-pandemic actually means,” said David Cruise, president and CEO of MassHire Springfield Career Center. “I think the pandemic is still very much a driving factor in decision making on the part of appli- cants, as well as, to some degree, on the part of the employer.”
Elaborating, he told BusinessWest that employ- ers are struggling on several fronts; they’re not seeing large numbers of applicants for positions to be filled, they’re not seeing enough qualified applicants, and when they do find people they want to hire, they’re struggling to retain them because other job opportunities with better pay and benefits continue to present themselves.
As a result, companies are spending far more than would be considered normal to recruit,
hire, and onboard help, said Cruise, noting that, as retention rates continue to fall, employers are expending more time, money, and energy — all precious commodities, especially with small busi- nesses — on the hiring process.
In other words, the Great Resignation isn’t over, although, as the economy falters, there are ques- tions about how long it will last.
“We’re continuing to see a lot of people quit- ting their jobs and starting new ones,” said Chris Geehern, executive vice president of Public Affairs & Communication for Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM). “My sense is that, as the economy weakens and job growth slows down, that phenomena will also slow down because employees now think, ‘I can quit this job and go to six different places.’ But if there are only two
job openings opposed to the six, employees think twice about leaving.”
After federal benefits ran out in September 2020, most employers thought there would be an onslaught of job seekers rushing to fill positions. But when people weren’t flooding career cen- ters for help, employers decided they needed to revamp their systems.
There is an emphasis on ‘the next job,’ so employers needed to find new ways to attract workers, meaning their
marketing strategies
Work in Progress?
Those we spoke with said the current chal- lenges are not restricted to certain sectors of the economy; it’s essentially across the board, with some industry groups, especially essential ser- vice sectors, particularly hard-hit. National hire rates have stayed the same at 4.4% over the past year despite more people looking for work, and despite news of layoffs in some sectors, especially financial services.
“This is an anomaly; employers have not been in a position where they’re not in control of the job market for a long, long time. It’s been a long time since employees have had this kind of control.
“You do see companies both hiring and laying off at the same time,” said Gadaire. “It’s confus- ing for people because employers need differ-
ent skills, and they have the choice to train their employees up or let them go and get new employ- ees with those skills instead. The cost of training subtracts from the bottom line. They could be great employees and the employer wants to keep them, but now they have to get paid more and get the training they need to be qualified.”
Instead of layoffs, companies are trying to slow down the hiring process, he continued. “Instead of layoffs, we’re seeing some of the companies
 needed to change, said Dave Gadaire, president and CEO
of MassHire Holyoke Career Center, add- ing that companies are “getting more aggressive in how they recruit; they’re tak- ing more advantage of not just social media, but the airwaves and newspapers.”
MEREDITH WISE
”
     Employers are also attending more job fairs, both virtually and in person. In the past month, MassHire has held job fairs in Holyoke and Springfield. Each of those fairs brought in more than 200 job seekers and more than 50 business- es, but the demand still far exceeds supply.
For this issue and its focus on employment, BusinessWest looks at the issues shaping the cur- rent job market, the outlook at least for the short term, and whether employers may gain back con- trol of the market any time soon.
           Michael Lynch
Barbara-Jean Deloria
Barrbara-Jean DelLorriia
Michael Moriarty
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James Michael Montemayor Davey
Henry "Hank" Joe Doug Downey Kulig Gilbert
Henry "Hank" Joe Doug Downey Kulig Gilbert
Michael Lynch
James Michael Montemayor Davey
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    14 JULY 25, 2022
EMPLOYMENT
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