MiWorks and Kinexus officials say there are still far more jobs available than people looking for jobs in Michigan’s Great Southwest. Kinexus Vice President Al Pscholka and MIWorks regional director Lily Brewer met with reporters in a monthly roundtable that digs into the numbers they are seeing as they work with employers and job seekers.
Pscholka said employers are becoming a little more cautious about business expansion, especially capital spending, as inflation drives fear of higher interest rates ahead. However, they still have jobs they need to fill, and not enough applicants to fill them. Some ot that caution is also driven by shortages of things like fertilizer in the Agricultural segment of the economy, and higher fuel prices in every segment.
Pscholka said area growers are making decisions about what and how much to plant amid “five dollar diesel fuel” for all of their rolling stock of equipment. He pointed out that will almost certainly lead to sharply higher food costs later this year, probably affecting demand and making growers even more cautious.
It wasn’t all gloom and doom at the Kinexus/MIWorks session. Several success sotries were highlighted, based on a more individualized approach the agencies have been taking to help employers and job seekers. Kinexus spokesperson Mary Morphey said it’s increasingly about retaining jobs amid the challenges of everyday life for workers.
Morphey pointed to a local firm that was ‘down’ five workers because ONE of the workers–who drove the other four to work–couldn’t afford a new transmission for his car. MIWorks discovered the problem, working with the employer. They found a solution for the ‘transmission problem’–and five people kept their jobs. Result: happy employed workers and happy employer.
Kinexus leaders say this kind of problem solving is what’s required in the unusual economic circumstances we are in amid the pandemic, supply chain disruptions and looming inflationary pressures.
MIWorks Director Brewer said they are organizing an upcoming six month series of in-person ‘Hiring Events’ for the Summer and Fall that will attempt to connect employers with job seekers re-entering the employment market. MIWorks has found that people willing to work have sometimes still been reluctant to come into conventional offices, as they did in past times, pre-pandemic. So, they are seeking new creative ways to put the two parties together–employers and applicants.
Nationally, Pscholka said, the work force has rebounded to about 90% of pre-pandemic levels. However, Michigan and the region have not kept up with that figure.
