SMEs get some relief from employment problems

Small business owners say it’s getting easier to hire and retain workers, and they hope it’s a sign that the worst labor problems are over.

The US job market remains historically tight. But in December, for the first time since July, more small business owners said finding workers was easier, not harder, in a Wall Street Journal survey.

Some entrepreneurs say measures such as raising wages, adding apprenticeship programs and rewriting job ads are starting to pay off. Others report that their competitors have withdrawn their hiring or initiated layoffs, resulting in an increase in applicants.

Recruitment sign of “labor shortage”. (iStock/iStock)

Small businesses are paying the ultimate price as crime waves continue to attack communities across the country

UnaliWear Inc., a manufacturer of medical watches, struggled to keep new hires on board this summer. Jean Anne Booth, her CEO, who has 17 employees, said: “They took the job, showed up for a week, and never showed up again.”

This fall, the Austin, Texas company will increase starting wages from $15 to $18 an hour, with an additional $1 an hour after six months to bring salaries on par with other local employers. I aimed for “Now, for the first time in a long time, we are fully staffed,” Booth said.

In a December survey, nearly 25% of over 650 entrepreneurs said it’s easier to fill vacancies now than in early 2022, up from 18% in November. . Meanwhile, 20% said they were finding it harder to fill open positions, down from 25% in November. This research was conducted for the journal by Visage Worldwide Inc., a business coaching and peer advisory firm.

Shifts are modest, as job vacancies continue to weigh on many small businesses. Of those surveyed, 56% said employment issues are making it difficult to operate at full capacity. Eighty-four percent of small business owners reported raising wages in response to labor market challenges, and more than two-thirds reported offering flexible hours and schedules.

A hiring sign at a restaurant in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, December 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh/AP Images)

Black Friday will replace Saturday for small businesses this year

In some sectors, economic uncertainty is creating opportunities to add talent. “We see it getting a little easier,” said Dale Lemons, owner of Kelso, Wash.-based Signature Transport and Interstate Wood Products. is the main reason,” he said. 125 employees. “It’s not as hot a job market as it used to be.”

Over the past 18 months, Lemmons has increased salaries for entry-level truck drivers by 20% and drivers with 3+ years of experience by up to 40%. About 25 people have taken a paid apprenticeship program that started in January this year. 7 people currently in training.

Chip Ridge, president of Millennial Title in Louisville, Kentucky, will make strategic hiring in early 2023 as the housing and mortgage industry continues to shrink in response to rising interest rates and slowing sales. said he hopes

“There is a lot of very high-level talent in this industry that has been laid off as part of this economic shift,” said Ridge, who has 33 employees. There is a potential opportunity to acquire really experienced talent.”

At Water Tech Corp. in East Brunswick, New Jersey, a job ad for a logistics position attracted three applicants earlier this year and nearly 100 applicants this summer. “There were definitely more candidates, but we haven’t found the right one yet,” said Guy Erlich, owner of a company that employs about 40 people and sells battery-powered vacuum cleaners for cleaning swimming pools. No.

Erlich believes the surge in applicants reflects a hiring freeze at big companies. He expects a growing number of more qualified candidates in the coming months as large companies that have expanded their logistics operations in response to supply chain shortages are pulling out due to having too much inventory.

A “Hiring” sign hangs on the door of a retail store in Lower Manhattan, New York City, January 4, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images/Getty Images)

11-Year-Old Boy Starts Dessert Business From Shack, Shares Secret Recipe For Success

For other small businesses, hiring remains as difficult as ever. Doetsch Environmental Services in Warren, Michigan frequently dispatches three of his staff instead of four due to staff shortages. The company, which specializes in cleaning underground sewer systems, has 50 employees and 20 job openings.

“We are asking people to do more with less.

Kelso, Washington-based Signature Transport made it easier to hire truck drivers by increasing salaries and introducing an apprenticeship program.

Doetsch has increased starting salaries by about 30% in the last 18 months and shortened the pay raise schedule. You spend a lot of time talking to job seekers about company benefits and promotion prospects.

More applicants are responding to job postings, but “haven’t been able to attend interviews yet,” Schotthoefer said. New unqualified candidates come in expecting to be paid at the same rate as employees with more than 10 years of experience, he added.

Competing with larger companies with more generous salaries and benefits packages remains a challenge. D2 Solutions, a strategic consulting and technology company focused on the hospital and life sciences industry, recently lost a senior sales executive to a pharmaceutical company who offered him a 40% pay raise. “It was way more than we could afford to pay as a small company,” said his CEO Dean Erhardt.

A small sign for a store outside a pizza restaurant in Voorhees, New Jersey, November 26, 2022.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FOX BUSINESS

Small business confidence overall showed its biggest improvement in 21 months in December, with national economic ratings showing their biggest month-on-month rise, according to a Visage survey.

Richard Curtin, an economist at the University of Michigan who analyzed the data, said higher confidence among small businesses may reflect easing inflation as price increases for goods, services and other inputs have slowed. said to be high. Net employment plans expanded the most in nine months, he added.

Stephen Smithing, who owns restaurants Mare Bulls and Green Hills Grill in Nashville, Tennessee, said more people are dining out. This Thanksgiving, for the first time in a decade, he didn’t have to call his four children, ages 14 to his 24, to make up for holiday staff shortages. Hourly wages have risen nearly 21% since December 2020, he said.

“For the first time in a long time, we don’t even need a manager,” said Smithing, who has about 160 employees.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP