Workforce challenges will continue in 2022, local experts say

For many companies, finding new workers has been hard work — and it will continue to be a challenge in the new year.

The state’s unemployment rate is 3.7%, and economists expect that to drop to pre-pandemic levels of 2.8% by later this year — barring any catastrophic new COVID-19 variant. Even as jobs have come back in rapid succession following the initial pandemic shutdowns, the labor force isn’t going to be what it once was.

Exceeding economic expectations

Local recruiters and leaders of employment services say post-pandemic hiring is tracking along several trends as companies flex to meet changing expectations.

Julie Godshall Brown, owner of Godshall Recruiting, said only some workers were apprehensive about heading back into the work force, given the frequency of COVID-19 outbreaks. She said 2020 was rough, but 2021 has exceeded their expectations.

“We’re blessed to be in a place where people want to move,” she said. “A lot of problems will be solved as people move to this area.”

In the coming year, All the companies Brown works with are hiring. The biggest segments she believes will be health care and engineering. But with high levels of vacancies in many industries, she sees completion of college programs by job seekers to be the best way forward. She said there’s a push at the state level to get at least 60% of the workforce to hold a 2- or 4-year degree or professional certificate. Brown says she is seeing a trend shift from skills-based employees to those who fit into the culture of the workplace.

“For a bit of skills, they can be taught,” she said. “Behavior is a thing that can’t be unlearned.”

Moreover, she said companies will have to be creative in how they recruit in the future. Brown is looking for opportunities on how her company can streamline the hiring process, including using artificial intelligence.

Still, she said, hiring will continue to increase thanks to the diversity of industry in the Upstate.

Companies having to adjust

Michelle Heil, Greenville branch manager with Recruiting Solutions, said a lot of their clients are having to re-evaluate pay, benefits and incentives. She said pay is probably the biggest factor in whether people stick with a job or leave. Along with finding candidates, she said retaining existing personnel has been the biggest challenge.

Heil says a lot of employees who come through Recruiting Solutions are concerned about whether they’ll be forced to have a COVID-19 vaccine. While none of her clients require one, there are a few companies that are contemplating a vaccine mandate.

Her company fills positions for assemblers, machine operators and maintenance workers; along with health care, human resources and administrative workers. Heil is more hopeful as 2022 rolls around, despite the challenges.

“I’m hopeful (the worker shortage) will get better,” she said.

Do standards have to drop?

It’s not only emerging trends to be cognizant of in post-pandemic environments, says Rachel Touchet, vice president of recruiting operations at Sawyer Staffing Inc. Labor-strapped employers continue to struggle with finding workers who meet minimum requirements.

She says many applicants can’t pass a criminal background check and a standard drug screen, they don’t a valid driver’s license, and they don’t own a reliable vehicle.

“Sadly, many [employers] are lowering their standards, but this just increases turnover and is not a long term solution,” Touchet said.

She says the best way forward for many companies is to increase pay and make the hiring process easier for workers, as well as increasing benefits and making the work experience more pleasant through a better work-life balance and increased appreciation for staff.

S.C. labor statistics