Post-COVID Economy Hampered By Lack Of Workers

DAYTON — Bars and restaurants are not the only businesses hurt by the scarcity of workers in the post-COVID economy. Miami Valley manufacturers are suffering too. Angelia Erbaugh, President of the Dayton Region Manufacturers Association told News Center 7 that she is very optimistic about the future of the state of manufacturing.

With that optimism, though, comes the cautionary tale of companies looking and not finding enough people to help them get their businesses rolling as well as they were in early 2020 when the pandemic was not yet upon us.

>> Riverside man accused of lighting mom and house on fire on Mother’s Day indicted

Erbaugh said manufacturers support Gov. Mike DeWine’s decision to end the $300 a week extra unemployment benefit that was started during the health crisis to help people who had their hours cut and those who lost their jobs altogether. DeWine noted the program has outlived its usefulness and is now leading too many people to stay at home rather than return to work. When pressed for documentation of the problem, DeWine pointed to conversations with business owners but he had no data to back up his claim.

Erbaugh said the move is justified and will help push the economy forward.

“We just feel that the supplemental unemployment benefit [removal] will help to encourage people to get back into the workforce, actively look for work and secure those great jobs in manufacturing,” Erbaugh said.

Steve Staub, President of Staub Manufacturing Solutions, said he is hoping that the end of the extra unemployment benefit will not only help his industry, but also many others, including logistics and distribution centers.

“You have 10,000 jobs available in the Dayton region today that are going unfilled and that’s echoed throughout the country. If we continue to pay people to sit home we are not going to fill these jobs,” Staub said.

>> Bus driver shortage, decreased demand forces temporary elimination of some RTA routes

Workforce issues are not the only problems facing manufacturing here. Erbaugh said companies are having the same trouble with supply chain issues that slow production and add to costs.

“Whether its securing raw materials, steel, plastics that type of thing or whether its securing components that they use to make products here locally,” Erbaugh said.

Staub is looking forward to what is ahead in the new economy, after the COVID restrictions are lifted, as he and others in the industry try to attract new workers.

“We’ve got opportunities in our industry that aren’t realized by many folks and this pandemic has made it worse,” Staub said.

Cox Media Group