The latest unemployment reports show that the job market is showing an impressive rebound from its highest unemployment rate of 14% in April 2020.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated that as of March 2021, unemployment is currently at 6% and added 916,000 payrolled workers. The manufacturing sector unemployment rate is remaining steady at 5.2%, and added 53,000 payrolled workers – exceeding expectations from earlier economic projections.
In a recent survey by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), 88% of manufacturing companies reportedly have an optimistic outlook of the economy.
“As vaccines roll out at a faster pace and we see signs of an improving economy, manufacturers’ optimism is rising fast,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “Our industry is creating new jobs and investing in new projects, buoyed by signs that we may finally be getting COVID-19 under control.”
Though these statistics communicate positive economic trajectories, some challenges that could stall this growth include:
- Unemployment in engineering disciplines is at 2.8%, which means the talent pool for available engineers is small.
- Due to a perfect storm consisting of a global pandemic, container shortages, winter weather, factory fires, the blocking of the Suez Canal by a container ship, and a wavering relationship with international trade partners, Supply shortages of semiconductor chips and raw materials are causing delays in production and manufacturing – leading to some uncertainties in hiring workers.
Delaying hiring for key engineering and manufacturing personnel can prevent businesses from taking advantage of this economic upturn. Here’s one solution:
- In a survey conducted by TLNT, 80% of the employers they surveyed said they’re currently utilizing contingent workers and 1 in 3 plans on increasing hiring for more. The biggest reason: A higher need to be agile in meeting business demands but remain flexible while the market is still in a recovery phase.
As we continue to climb towards the end of this pandemic tunnel, companies need to build resilience in hiring for workers while providing themselves some wiggle room in case of another unforeseen disruption take place.
To see how SoloPoint Solutions can help your company leverage this economic upturn, contact us today: