HANCOCK COUNTY — When Kacie Clapp heads into work at Supercuts in Greenfield, she’s no longer joined by coworkers; the booths around hers remain empty until the end of the day.
“I’m the only one left,” she said.
Clapp is currently the salon’s sole employee and manager, and even she is moving to part time soon.
The business is far from the only one in Hancock County struggling to secure enough workers. Companies across a variety of industries report similar challenges as the economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Supercuts has had to reduce its days and hours of operation in light of its situation. Four more employees would bring the salon to full staffing, something Clapp said hasn’t happened in about a year.
“It’s been hard recently I think for a lot of businesses around here,” she said.
As far as why, Clapp said employment in the industry has always been unpredictable, and that it’s not uncommon for stylists to move around until they find their “home.”
Amanda Studer, general manager of the White Castle off North State Street in Greenfield, said she’s looking to hire more employees and finding it to be a challenge. The restaurant currently employs about 20, and she’d like to add at least 10 more for the summer. Starting pay is $11 an hour for day shifts, and $12 an hour overnight.
“It’s just a matter of people not filling out applications,” Studer said. “I’m not really seeing much of my already-hired employees quitting, or anything like that.”
The reasons behind the lack of candidates remain a mystery to her.
“I wouldn’t even know how to explain,” she said. “It’s odd, for sure, and I see it in some of the other restaurants. I just don’t get it.”
Shawn Schwering, branch manager of Elwood Staffing in Greenfield, said all of the agency’s clients are looking for workers. The agency staffs mainly for light industrial and warehousing.
“We’re doing our best to keep them staffed and getting new candidates in the door for them,” Schwering said. “It’s just been an uphill battle.”
He thinks tax returns and unemployment benefits may be tempting some not to look for work. The possibility of catching COVID-19, he continued, may also be discouraging some from getting back out into the working world and may be leading those who are looking for employment to seek work-from-home opportunities. Schwering thinks as those financial boosts deplete and COVID-19 vaccinations spread, the situation should improve.
Retta Livengood, president of the Greenfield Area Chamber of Commerce, has heard from employers running into difficulties to find people interested or available to work as well.
“I know that so many of our members are struggling,” Livengood said. “You see all of the ‘now hiring’ signs. I wish I had a magic wand to wave.”
Taco Bell, which has two locations in Greenfield, has not been spared from hiring hurdles either. Its restaurant off State Street recently had to close its dining room and serve customers solely through the drive-thru.
“The tight labor market caused us to evaluate and make changes to our overall hours of operation for these particular locations,” Taco Bell Corp. told the Daily Reporter in an email. “This decision was also made to protect the team member experience and also ensure that we are providing the best customer service from open to close.”
One outlier to this trend is Culver’s, which also has a location off State Street. Caitlin Woodward, a shift manager there, said the restaurant currently has more than 50 employees and that it’s not having trouble finding workers.
“I do orientations, and I’ve had at least two new people every week for a long time,” Woodward said.
She credits the company’s culture for allowing it to avoid the recruitment obstacles affecting much of the food service industry, adding she’s 20 and has worked there since she was 15.
“It’s just a really good place to work,” she said.
Wages there depend on availability, but can start at up to $13 an hour.
Other restaurants in the area having to reduce their hours seems to have driven more customers toward Culver’s, Woodward continued, adding the restaurant has recently broken daily and weekly sales records.
Randy Sorrell, executive director of the Hancock Economic Development Council, said he’s not aware of any facts explaining the causes behind the staffing challenges, but that data paints a picture similar to the anecdotes in Hancock County.
The county’s estimated unemployment rate for March 2021 is 3.5%, nearly back to the pre-pandemic 3.1% reported for March 2020.
Indiana’s rate is improving similarly — 3.9% for March 2021, nearing the 3.3% for March 2020.
Another important metric, Sorrell said, is the labor participation rate — the percentage of people of prime working age available to be employed who either are employed or looking for employment.
“And a good number is more than two-thirds,” he said. “So if we see a labor force participation rate of 68, 69%, that means times are good. People think it’s worth the time to engage, get a job, look for a job.”
In bad times, people take themselves off the labor market, Sorrell continued. Reasons could include a sense of hopelessness driving them to stop looking for work, or receiving benefits that outweigh what they’d get from being employed.
“That drives down your labor force participation rate,” he said.
Indiana’s labor force participation rate for March 2021 was just over 63%. Within the difference of that and the ideal 68% lie those able to work for many of the employers who claim they’re unable to find workers.
“We have a low unemployment rate, but our labor force is soft,” Sorrell said. “We need more participating.”
Questioning causes
The federal government reported last week that about 266,000 jobs were created in April, about a quarter of what analysts expected. Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, said the report suggests that while economic recovery continues, it’s not accelerating.
He also said the data on wage growth in the report rebuts claims of a labor shortage. After adjusting for inflation, Hicks noted, wages economy-wide for April 2021 were slightly down from April 2020.
In the hospitality and leisure sectors, he continued, wages were also down over last year.
“Though hospitality and leisure experienced good wage growth since last month, these data make it clear that these sectors are not facing a labor shortage that is sufficiently acute for them to adjust wages upward,” Hicks said in written comments to media outlets.
A National Federation of Independent Business survey reported a record 42% of small businesses had job openings they couldn’t fill in March. Twenty-four percent said labor quality was their top problem.
Work ethic emerged as a leading concern among Mt. Comfort area businesses in the preliminary findings of a study commissioned earlier this year by the Hancock County Redevelopment Commission. The completed study is expected to be released soon.
Hicks also expressed doubt toward unemployment benefits having a significant impact on thwarting people from returning to work, pointing out workers are leaving unemployment insurance rolls almost five times faster than the past month’s new job creation.
“This makes clear there is an abundant supply of men and women not receiving compensation,” he said.
Gov. Eric Holcomb is mulling the future of Indiana’s participation in federal pandemic-related unemployment programs. Many unemployed Hoosiers currently get a $300 federal supplement thanks to one such program.
Holcomb asked the Indiana Department of Workforce Development last week to complete a demographic analysis of unemployed Hoosiers over the past 16 months to aid him in that decision.
“Part of that analysis is to compare our workforce now versus before the start of the pandemic,” Holcomb said in a news release. “Our unemployment rate stands at 3.9%, which is near pre-pandemic levels, and our labor force mirrors pre-pandemic levels, when we also had worker shortages. We must concentrate on building the right pathways to match people with the skill sets employers need and to attract more people to join our workforce.”
The governor added he plans to issue an executive order reinstating a requirement that those receiving unemployment actively seek employment and be available for work, which has been waived since the beginning of the pandemic.
