Supply Chain
ASK A BOARD MEMBER
A Good Employee Is Hard to Find
THE QUESTION:
Like many industries, the dairy industry continues to struggle with labor shortages that have significantly impacted business. How has your sector of the dairy industry struggled with the labor shortage and what has the industry done (or can continue to do) to both recruit and retain employees at every level?
28 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.
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ike most industries, the dairy industry continues to struggle with labor shortages – a problem that has significantly impacted businesses of every kind. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, at the end of 2021, there were 10.6 million jobs open and more than 6.3 million unemployed people in the U.S. (This number is thought to be conservative, as to be classified as “unemployed,” a person has to be actively looking for work.) Unemployment rates are expected to average just under 4% in 2022 with nearly 300,000 jobs added monthly. While there are a variety of reasons why a good employee is hard to find, the obvious common denominator is the pandemic. Some lost their jobs as businesses shut their doors; others refuse to come back fearing COVID or due to other issues like lack of childcare or elder care. Many like working from home and are only considering opportunities that will continue to let them do so – not something always possible in the
dairy industry. Some people, particularly Baby Boomers, took the pandemic as a sign that it was time to retire, and others, particularly Generation Z, decided that work-life balance was of the utmost importance, often jumping quickly from one job to a better one with fewer hours and better perks. Other issues, like age restrictions for truck drivers, a lack of interest in dairy-related jobs, particularly in the trades, and what some in the industry say is simply a lack of interest in good, old-fashioned hard work, has also tipped the scales in the wrong direction for employers. Employers in every industry are doing everything they can to draw in employees – from generous hourly wages to signing bonuses and other perks. Federal Reserve economists expect unemployment to improve by the end of 2022 but are only estimating a fall back to 3.5%, so the problem is not going away anytime soon. To that end, Northeast Dairy asked board members from the Northeast Dairy Foods Association and the Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association to weigh
