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By the end of this decade, we may need nearly 1 million additional workers in the transportation and warehousing industries. If this projection from the US Bureau of Labor is correct, lack of skilled workers will be a growing problem in the next several years. Robotics may help, but not enough to correct the shortage. The day when management can find and hire people who already have the skills to operate lift trucks in delivery vehicles is over. Training and developing people is the best answer to a shrinking supply of labor.
What are you doing to attract and retain workers who have no experience in our industry?
Labor participation rate – an overlooked statistic journalists reporting on our economy tend to emphasize the growth in jobs and the employment rates. However they overlook the labor participation rate. This statistic was steady between 1990 and 2008, and since that time it has been in decline.
The participation rate is the percentage of population 16 years of age and older that is working or actively looking for work. For many years, the rate moved between 66% and 68%. With the pandemic, it reached a low of 60% and now sits at around 62%.
Where did these people go? What can be done to pull them back into our growing industry of warehousing?
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