ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Getting a “cuppa joe” in the Lehigh Valley may be a little bit tougher these days.
Yariv Fadlon is an assistant professor of economics at Muhlenberg College. He says Pennsylvania has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.
“It is 6.4% in Pennsylvania, 6.2% in the Lehigh Valley versus 5.2% across the United States,” said Fadlon.
Fadlon said the pandemic has resulted in fewer people ready to jump into jobs right now.
“During the pandemic and during recessions the labor market is reorganized,” Fadlon said. “In the process of the reorganization, you see more shortages, sometimes you see a surplus. In this case, you see a shortage.”
Fadlon says demand for unskilled labor is also high because the U.S. economy is booming.
But he says the labor shortage doesn’t necessarily mean that people don’t want to work. Even though people have just lost their CARES Act relief money, Fadlon said some of the workforce is looking for higher paying jobs and better benefits.
“Because of the labor shortage, more companies have to compete for this unskilled labor, and Starbucks has to compete with other companies,” Fadlon said.
A representative from Starbucks characterized the staffing shortages as temporary. The company says it’s only reducing hours in some U.S. markets to ease pressure on staff.
Fadlon anticipates that labor shortages will last for several more months.