OHIO — Supply chain issues continue to be a stone in the shoe for many Ohio businesses and consumers usually end up paying the price for shortages, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel.
When it comes to the 2022 outlook, some economists think the low workforce problem will go away, in time; sooner, if businesses learn to think outside the box.
What You Need To Know
- Economists show optimism for businesses in 2022 amid labor force shortages and supply chain issues
- Businesses will have to adapt and think outside the box to retain workers and overcome supply issues
- Supply chain issues are a sign or economic recovery but the business community is having a hard time catching up
“There was a problem even before the pandemic. Businesses were struggling to fill jobs. There were at least 7 billion jobs, and businesses could not fill them and the pandemic made it much worse’, said Jim Glassman, head economist for JP Morgan Chase Commercial Banking. “I think, in time, some of this issue will go away, but frankly, this is a real long term and structural problem and businesses are discovering, have known about this for some time and they’re realizing they have to work harder to try to attract workers and to retain them.”
Some businesses have been increasing salaries and offering better benefits, in-house training programs and flexible work arrangements. For economists like Glassman, these are all good signs, even as businesses are struggling to find workers.
“They learned how to navigate all the upheaval from the pandemic. They’re doing what you and I, as the consumer are figuring out. We consumers are learning, well, there’s other ways to shop, you don’t have to go to the mall; you can go online. Well, businesses are doing the same thing, they’re learning to do what Amazon has been doing, you go online to meet the needs of consumers, you’re upgrading back office systems, touch-less technology.”
Glassman says all of those changes are helping businesses be more efficient and at the same time, are giving them more resources to resolve the challenges they may face.
“I think that’s really pretty impressive to me when you see how well small and midsize businesses are managing in a difficult time like we’ve never seen before. That tells you that everybody is working hard to figure out how to get around these bottlenecks and hurdles.”
And even as many suffer the repercussions of supply change issues, it’s a good sign of economic recovery, Glassman said.
“These are all the result of an economy that’s recovered really quite successfully from the pandemic, but a business community that’s having a harder time catching up because they got supply chain scattered all over the world and everyone is dealing with this coronavirus.”
