Tough Road Ahead Forecasted for Businesses in Attracting Workers
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Businesses in Putnam County and the region are facing many challenges in recruiting employees following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a breakfast symposium hosted by the Putnam County Economic Development Corporation (PCEDC) Sept. 29 at the Putnam County Golf Club in Mahopac, business representatives and local leaders listened to two experts discuss the state of the regional economy and its impact on businesses and residents.
“Our goal is to raise awareness of our organization with prospective businesses interested in starting up or relocating to Putnam County, and to provide insight into economic trends and growth opportunities that will impact our local businesses, which we wholeheartedly support,” PCEDC President Kathleen Abels stated.
Adam Bosch, president and CEO of Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, a policy, planning and research organization, painted a somewhat dim picture of the many factors surrounding the large number of current vacancies in the workforce.
“There’s a major shortfall the region has to wrestle with,” Bosch, a former journalist and journalism adjunct professor, stressed. “We need more workers than we have and that’s not likely to change. We need a community of people who are thriving and not just surviving.”
E.J. McMahon, founding senior fellow of the Empire Center for Public Policy, a nonpartisan think tank based in Albany, said through August, New York State was an estimated 287,000 jobs short since the pandemic struck in March 2020. He noted only Vermont, Hawaii and Alaska had worst numbers regarding regaining jobs.
He said one of the reasons for the slow recovery was individuals deciding to retire rather than reentering the workforce. Bosch said that was a trend that was expected to continue.
Some of the areas where jobs have become difficult to fill are healthcare, food service, construction trades, warehouses, drivers with CDL licenses and EMTS.
Bosch said the cost of higher education, childcare and housing have contributed to the workforce dilemma.
With the median sale price of a home in Putnam in 2022 standing at $505,000, Bosch said home ownership has become out of reach for many working families.
“We’re just not keeping up with the amount of housing we need,” Bosch said. “People who end up in rentals, they’re stuck there. We need to open our eyes that we need the full spectrum of housing.”
Bosch and McMahon both pointed out how the migration of residents to other states has also played a role in less people being able to fill jobs. Bosch said about 5,000 people annually are fleeing the region for more affordable places to live and in more pleasant weather climates.
The gloomy statistics prompted Abels to remark, “That was extremely informative, and terrifying.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
