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Atlanta FRB: Small firms face challenges to find workers

February 25, 2019 By Nancy Cleveland

Amid a largely positive Beige Book report by the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) on economic conditions in the Southeast, some small businesses report particular challenges competing with larger companies for a dwindling pool of available workers.

Across the board, businesses continued to report pressure to increase wages for low-skill, hourly jobs, notably in the hospitality and retail industries. That’s good news for workers.

But the January 16 report notes, “Challenges with escalating wage pressure were especially acute among small businesses.”

Growing numbers of Americans are switching jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  In that context, the past few Beige Book reports have captured a powerful focus on retaining employees in a tight labor market. The latest Beige Book includes a couple of newer nuggets:

  • The particular challenges facing smaller employers, and reports from a few contacts in construction, manufacturing, and health services that they are overstaffing certain jobs to prepare for anticipated growth, figuring it will be difficult to find people in the coming months.

Even as many confront hiring challenges, retailers across the Sixth Federal Reserve District reported steady holiday sales. Not surprisingly, online sales grew faster than those at traditional stores.  Travel and tourism contacts also reported growth in business and leisure travel.

In other sectors:

  • Companies reported input costs kept climbing, especially for products affected by tariffs.  So far, most firms report passing along tariff-related price increase with no serious impact on profit margins.
  • Demand for renewable power continued to grow compared to electricity generated by coal, gas, or nuclear plants.
  • In many parts of the district, sales of existing homes were flat or declined. Home construction is lagging demand, as builders focus on higher-priced houses in popular submarkets.
  • Commercial real estate reports were generally upbeat. Vacancy rates continued to decline, fueled by the industrial, multifamily, and medical sectors. In fact, demand for industrial space, such as big distribution centers, continues to exceed supply. However, contacts reported ongoing concerns about bankruptcies and generally difficult conditions among traditional big-box retailers.
  • Cargo shipments were up among contacts at seaports, air freight haulers, and railroads. Logistics firms reported higher volumes of packages delivered during the holidays compared to the previous year.
  • Financial institutions generally reported that conditions held steady.  Higher interest rates boosted net margins at most banks, while growth in loan volumes continued but at a slower pace, especially in real estate.  While measures of loan quality stayed mostly strong, some lenders noted increases in late payments by consumers.
  • In the farming business, the U.S. Department of Agriculture designated counties in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi as natural disaster areas because of damages and losses from hurricanes and flooding.

Source: https://www.frbatlanta.org/economy-matters/regional-economics/beige-book/2019/01/16/beige-book-small-firms-face-challenges-to-find-workers

Filed Under: Contracting Tips Tagged With: Bureau of Labor Statistics, cargo, farming, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Bank, interest rates, real estate, small business, tariffs, transportation, wage rates, workforce

Tips for federal contractors during a government shutdown

January 23, 2019 By Nancy Cleveland

25 days and counting, the partial government shutdown has left many federal employees with an endless weekend and no paycheck.

While those workers grapple with the financial hardship and uncertainty as Congress and the Administration try to reconcile their differences, contractors working under a government contract may be forced to deal with their own issues.

Government contractors may feel the impact of the shutdown in three primary ways: 1) availability of funds, 2) financing performance of the contract, and 3) handling financial responsibility for an idle workforce.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=773342

See our earlier article on this subject at:

  • What to expect during a government shutdown: Submitting bids, getting paid, and more – https://gtpac.org/2018/12/31/what-to-expect-during-a-government-shutdown-submitting-bids-getting-paid-and-more/

Filed Under: Contracting Tips Tagged With: federal contractors, financing, funding, government shutdown, shutdown, workforce

Women are the solution to the construction industry’s labor shortage

November 14, 2018 By Nancy Cleveland

Megan Ross is an assistant superintendent for a large Maryland-based general contractor.  Ross, a former architecture major, had realized she’d rather build structures than design them, and is now on construction sites every day, coordinating subcontractors and monitoring the progress of jobs.

At her first position out of college, she earned a salary of over $50,000; two years later she says, “I have friends in architecture who are making half of that.”  The work is a joy, she says. “It’s one of the best careers you can have.”

Ross is part of an overlooked group that, with some assistance, could easily solve the construction industry’s labor shortage: women. Currently, women make up less than 3 percent of the construction workforce, which includes the building trades—hands-on jobs like carpentry, bricklaying, and electrical work—as well as management. If twice as many women worked in the field, the industry’s labor shortage would, according to data available from the U.S. Department of Labor, practically be wiped out.

And finding a solution to the ongoing worker shortage is crucial.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.curbed.com/2018/11/5/18065266/construction-industry-labor-shortage-women

Filed Under: Contracting Tips Tagged With: construction, labor, Labor Dept., labor shortage, US DOL, women, workforce

Industry seeks easy fixes to lengthy, redundant vetting process for DHS contractors

March 8, 2018 By Nancy Cleveland

Industry is pushing members of Congress to help the Homeland Security Department address a series of major roadblocks that companies have with the agency’s long, confusing and redundant process for vetting contractor personnel.

Most members of industry and Congress agree: the governmentwide security clearance process, which recently made its way back on the Government Accountability Office’s biennial High-Risk List, has its many challenges.

But the least DHS could do, industry said, is standardize and simplify the requirements it uses to determine whether contracting personnel are fit to work on behalf of the agency.

“We want them standardized,” Marc Pearl, president and CEO of the Homeland Security and Defense Business Council, said Tuesday at a hearing on the DHS vetting process.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/workforce/2018/02/industry-seeks-easy-fixes-to-lengthy-redundant-vetting-process-for-dhs-contractors/

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: DHS, GAO, government standards, Homeland Security, security clearance, vetting, workforce

Georgia Tech hosts statewide events this quarter to help Georgia manufacturers

October 10, 2014 By ei2admin

Georgia Tech is conducting a Manufacturing Growth Meeting series during the last quarter of 2014 across the state of Georgia, consisting of educational and networking events designed to deliver actionable tips and tools of the trade to help Georgia manufacturers grow their business. The series is hosted and taught by the GaMEP at Georgia Tech – the same instructors that bring you expertise in the process improvement, sustainability, and energy courses.

Meetings are held in various locations around the state and topics vary based on feedback from the manufacturing companies in each area.  Meetings are currently scheduled to be held in Lawrenceville, Savannah, Douglas, Augusta, Jefferson and LaGrange.

All meetings are $15, include lunch, and are from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Here are the meetings currently scheduled around the state:

Lean & Safe: Integrating Safety Management and Process Improvement

Has your company ever implemented a process improvement, only to realize it had an adverse effect on safety? Or vice versa? Learn how to integrate safety management into lean processes from the start and prevent potential conflicts.

  • Jefferson, GA
  • Date: October 14, 2014
  • More information or to register CLICK HERE

Where Lean Meets Green

Learn how to include energy and environmental wastes into your Lean systems– a strategy proven to maximize your return on investments. This discussion will help you discover where your facility wastes dollars in excess energy consumption, reduce operating costs and start a next step action plan to improve your company’s energy management.

  • Augusta, GA
  • Date: October 28, 2014
  • More information or to register CLICK HERE

Solving Problems with Effective Employee Training

Issues with quality, production time and even workplace culture can often be eliminated with good employee training. So, what’s the best way to train a large workforce that often includes inexperienced or temporary workers? Discover a method for training employees that standardizes work processes, creates uniform standards and encourages company-wide improvements.

  • Savannah, GA
  • Date: November 11, 2014
  • More information or to register CLICK HERE

Bridging the Generational Gaps in Your Workforce

At a time when three generations (Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y) co-exist in the workplace, how do you create an environment that addresses the needs and expectations of the entire workforce? Discuss each generation’s unique qualities and learn how organizations can use this knowledge to motivate employees, reduce turn-over, improve morale, and improve the overall culture of the workplace.

  • Douglas, GA
  • Date: December 3, 2014
  • More information or to register CLICK HERE
  • Lawrenceville, GA
  • Date: December 11, 2014
  • More information or to register CLICK HERE
  • LaGrange, GA
  • Date: January 29, 2015
  • More information or to register CLICK HERE

Filed Under: Georgia Tech News Tagged With: Georgia Tech, green, lean, manufacturing, process improvement, safety, workforce

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