As inflation rises, Pennsylvania businesses face an ongoing hiring struggle. | Hanson Lu/Unsplash
As inflation rises, Pennsylvania businesses face an ongoing hiring struggle. | Hanson Lu/Unsplash
As with the rest of the United States, Pennsylvania has experienced the consequences of inflation as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to affect the economy and workforce.
Scranton business owners of grocery stores, restaurants and auto body shops are feeling the pinch of increasing prices while simultaneously struggling to find workers who are willing to take a job.
"I could hire 100 people today and still probably not be fully staffed," Joe Fasula, co-owner of Gerrity’s Supermarkets, told Keystone Today. "We are currently offering a $500 new-hire bonus, and we did also give a $500 thank-you bonus to all of our employees. Now that's based on how many hours you worked."
Full-time employees who work 40 hours a week did receive the full $500 amount.
After more than a year and a half of economic troubles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many feel little progress has been made.
Hunter Tower, the Pennsylvania director of the Freedom Foundation, told Keystone Today that some of the choices by statewide leaders in Pennsylvania have not only not helped the economic recovery but may have actively hindered it. Tower cited Gov. Tom Wolf's delayed reopening of the economy due to strict COVID-19 lockdowns.
As state officials continue to enforce public restrictions, inflation is rising. WJAC in Johnstown reported that consumer prices are up 5.4% since June 2020, the biggest increase in almost 13 years.
Some actions by state officials have had a positive impact, however, including the reinstatement of the work-search requirement for collecting unemployment benefits. However, this action has not gone as far as other states, as Wolf has not opted out of the extra federal unemployment insurance benefits.
Pennsylvania unemployment did drop during June, down to 6.9%, but this is still a full point above the national average of 5.9%.
A WalletHub report released Aug. 12 places Pennsylvania fourth on a list of states whose unemployment claims have recovered the most since the previous week. The commonwealth is at No. 30 in states that have recovered the most since the onset of the pandemic.
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