The Economy Needs Millions of Workers
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Mueller: Draft haul reflects well on Cherington SPORTS, 1B THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2021 | ELLWOODCITYLEDGER.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK CYS The economy needs workload, experiences millions of workers detailed Nicholas Vercilla Ellwood City Ledger USA TODAY NETWORK Picture the following scenarios. A parent getting upset at his or her child during bathroom training, caus- ing the adult to throw the youngster against a wall, breaking tender ribs. Children living in houses filled with feces, cockroaches and maggots, or children being locked in their room for nearly all hours of the day, having a bucket in their room to be used as a toi- let. Those are just some of the horrific situations experienced by the workers and agencies that work with Lawrence County Children, Youth and Family Services (CYS). “These stories you hear, they are le- gitimate case scenarios,” said CYS Di- rector John Bout. “It’s a hard job. It’s a stressful job.” Bout discussed the work experienc- es of caseworkers at CYS, as well as how the agency as a whole compares to CYS agencies in other counties, dur- ing the most recent Lawrence County Commissioners’ meeting. “We do the work knowing it’s a thankless job, a hard job, and some- times a dangerous job,” he said. Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine graduates wave inflated examination gloves in celebration of graduating in Blacksburg, Va., in May 2019. MATT GENTRY/THE ROANOKE TIMES VIA AP Child welfare the No. 1 priority Bout said the workers have worked hard over the past year, stating they So why can’t recent college graduates find jobs? have been threatened, and sometimes injured in the field. Paul Davidson May are struggling to find jobs, in part job seekers. Despite it all, he said the workers USA TODAY NETWORK because they’re competing with both More than half of college seniors are not ashamed of the work they do, 2020 grads who deferred their job and recent graduates – 55.6% – de- stating they work only for the overall After more than a year of virtual searches during the pandemic and the scribed their career outlook as pessi- well-being of the children. classes and the loss of an on-campus, millions of Americans laid off in the mistic, according to a Joblist survey of Bout said over the past few years, rite-of-passage experience, millions of health crisis, experts say. Although em- about 1,000 recent and soon-to-be the agency has been working to place newly minted college graduates need ployers are scrambling to fill a record grads in February and March. The vast more children into more “family set- jobs. number of job openings, many are low- majority were looking for entry-level tings,” such as other relatives or foster U.S. businesses, coping with the dir- er-wage positions that college grads positions, and 3 out of 4 said they were homes, rather than traditional congre- est labor shortages on record, need aren’t seeking. struggling to find them. gate group homes. workers. Millions of them. Other higher-skill, white-collar As a result, 54% decided to pursue In fact, he said children are placed It would seem like a match tailored openings are also going begging but more schooling until the job market in those family settings 84% of the for a post-COVID-19 recovery that’s rid- chiefly in certain industries, like tech- improved while 25% switched indus- time, with more children being placed ing a historic surge in demand but re- nology and health care, college and tries. About 80% of those polled were into other parts in Lawrence County, mains constrained by a dearth of em- staffing officials say. scheduled to graduate this year. rather than shipping them out to group ployees. “The job market for the class of 2021 An updated survey of 157 respon- homes in other counties. Except it’s not quite working out that is improving but remains unusually dif- dents that Joblist conducted for USA Bout said not only does this provide way. ficult,” says Kevin Harrington, CEO of College students who graduated in Joblist, which provides online tools to See GRADS, Page 2A See CYS, Page 2A Shortage of workers is now ‘a full-blown crisis’ in Pa. Kim Strong couple of years, pandemic-related af- York Daily Record tershocks and other factors that have USA TODAY NETWORK – PENNSYLVANIA kept some potential hires at home. It’s a feast for job seekers, as some employers Rebecca Emlet is a human resource have raised starting wages, and when executive, feeling the pinch of the job they can, businesses are providing more market right now. work-from-home opportunities. Her role covers a swath of the North- The job market is especially chal- east as the regional senior HR manager lenging in Pennsylvania. for Campbell Snacks, but she’s focused The federal unemployment padding on Hanover, Pennsylvania, this week, as that helped people during the pandemic the snack food company -- home to Sny- is dis-incentivizing people from return- der’s of Hanover pretzels -- holds a job ing to work, according to Gene Barr, fair Wednesday. Emlet is a Hanover na- president and CEO of the Pennsylvania tive. Chamber of Business and Industry. Campbell has 100 job openings in the Some other states have abandoned the York County plant, and it’s offering a extra federal money, but Pennsylvania $1,000 sign-on bonus for a variety of is still in it. roles. Also, not enough young people are That’s what the job market requires staying here after high school, technical now: incentives, including bonuses, be- Snyder’s of Hanover has been in York County for about 100 years. It’s now owned cause of record low unemployment for a See WORKERS, Page 6A by Campbell Snacks. YORK DAILY RECORD FILE PHOTO Wolf administration Volume 101 | No. 140 Subscribe: 855-303-2660 Pandemic watch: Deaths, cases Don’t cooperate with News Tips: 724-758-5573 ©2021 $1.00 YDDCEJ-00010q of COVID-19 on rise globally. 10A Mastriano audit. 4A 2A| THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2021| ELLWOOD CITY LEDGER predecessors, many of whom put off Grads their job searches during the pandemic, as well as people laid off amid the pan- Continued from Page 1A demic, Kahn and Challenger say. Forty- five percent of graduates from the class TODAY over the past week yielded simi- of 2020 were still looking for work in lar results. About 47% of respondents March 2021, according to a survey that had a bleak view of their career month by job site Monster.com. prospects compared with 31.2% who And although the U.S. has recovered were optimistic. And 72.4% struggled to 15.6 million of the 22.4 million jobs lost find the kind of entry-level positions in the early days of the pandemic, that sought by college grads. still leaves about 6.8 million Americans It’s no wonder college students and out of work because of the crisis, though new grads feel frustrated. After hover- some have retired. Some of the unem- ing below pre-pandemic levels as re- ployed have a few more years of experi- cently as May, the number of applicants ence in the kind of entry-level positions per entry-level job opening jumped by grads are seeking. 44% in June and is now 34% above its College grads traditionally have held pre-crisis mark, according to ZipRecrui- a big advantage over older workers: ter, a leading job site. They typically don’t have families and With millions of students graduating some are willing to relocate to other re- in May, “Everyone is inundated with ap- gions of the country for a job. But that plications,” says Julia Pollak, chief edge has been somewhat blunted by the economist with ZipRecruiter, an online remote work trend sparked by the pan- marketplace for jobs. Cornell’s Commencement 2021 included Saturday’s graduation ceremony for the demic that has many companies willing College of Veterinary Medicine, the College of Human Ecology and Cornell to hire candidates who can work from ‘Positions are scarce’ Graduate School. KATE COLLINS/ITHACA JOURNAL, USA TODAY NETWORK their current homes halfway across the country, Challenger says. McKenzie Galbreath began her job With competition fierce, Galbreath, search in December and has continued atives, economists have said. firm. the University of Florida graduate seek- it since graduating from the University The most severe shortages are in lei- There are plenty of other jobs for peo- ing a counseling job, has switched up of Florida in May with a degree in psy- sure and hospitality, which includes ple with degrees. Job openings in pro- her strategy from scouring online post- chology. With job postings in her field restaurants, bars and hotels that are fessional and business services hit a ings to “more networking and building few and far between, she has applied for roaring back now that most states have record 1.5 million in April, up from 1.3 relationships with people.” just five positions and gotten two inter- lifted capacity limits and Americans are million before the pandemic. But such “That has helped me learn of new op- views as she seeks a counseling posi- traveling again. College grads generally positions are skewed toward high-skill portunities I wasn’t aware of, and it’s tion at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation aren’t seeking jobs as servers or front- fields such as information technology, also made me more knowledgeable of center. desk clerks but some are eyeing man- engineering and health care, say Math- the type of position I want to pursue,” “The job hunt has been tough be- agerial positions in those sectors, says ews, Pollak and Joshua Kahn, assistant she says.