Drop in Available Workers Vexs Local Employers

• Older labor force, declining population are factors
• Some workers exited healthcare field due to pandemic

By Siana Emery
The Tube City Almanac
August 04, 2021
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

About 80,000 workers have left the local labor force since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the area’s largest employers are finding it harder to fill vacancies.

According to a recent study by the Pennsylvania Economy League of Greater Pittsburgh, employment in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area in May 2021 was only 93.5 percent of what it was in May 2019. Of major American metro areas, only Cleveland, Boston and Detroit saw larger declines.

Experts blame a variety of factors, including health care workers who are burned out after 18 months of the pandemic and a lack of college students in the local job-training pipeline.

The problem in Pittsburgh is aggravated by two factors — a high percentage of older workers who were already near retirement age, and a stagnant and declining population base.

“There is evidence nationally that older workers have disproportionately dropped out of the labor force due to COVID,” said Chris Briem, a regional economist at the University Center for Social and Urban Research at the University of Pittsburgh. “The Pittsburgh region has a relatively older workforce, so if older workers were more impacted by COVID, it would make sense we are seeing concentrated impacts here.”

The stress of working during the pandemic seriously affected the health care industry, said Jeff Alvarez, interim chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care services for UPMC McKeesport and UPMC East.

At UPMC, the region’s largest medical center, the effects of the pandemic on staffing are clear. “We’ve lost seasoned nurses from the toll of this pandemic, similar to other health care providers nationwide and locally,” Alvarez said. “It’s forced us to take a fresh look at our pipeline of nurses and recruitment tactics.”

Additionally, the student-to-nursing pipeline was minimized in 2020, as student-nurses did not have the ability to attend on-site clinicals to determine their specialities and career paths, Alvarez said.

He said the strength of UPMC’s relationships with local colleges and universities will prove beneficial moving forward, as the health system will be able to recruit from a large pool of qualified applicants.

“We’re always trying to work to build more relationships with the schools around us to offer opportunities and incentives for current or future employees,” Alvarez said.

Pitt’s Briem has done extensive analysis on the factors at play in the region’s depressed labor market. He highlighted two major forces challenging the return to pre-pandemic labor market levels in the Pittsburgh region.

“Younger workers likely include a large number of students who last year were attending local institutions remotely,” said Briem. “Because they were not here physically, even if they were enrolled here, many were not able to take up part-time or even full-time jobs that would have been normal. Also, fewer students here has an impact on labor demand and employment in the region as well.”

He said there are also signs that across the United States, older workers disproportionately dropped out of the labor force, compared to other age groups, during the height of the pandemic.

“I think the issue the issue with older workers dropping out of the labor force may also be impacting entrepreneurs and business owners (and that) may not necessarily be showing up in workforce statistics,” he said.

In an effort to combat the contracted labor market, employers both in Pittsburgh and across the U.S. have reported they are shifting their policies, offering larger benefit packages, higher wages and more flexible hours to attract new employees.

“Across the nation and locally, we need more nurses. In addition to nurses, we are looking for entry level and experienced workers in both clinical and non-clinical roles,” said Alvarez. “At UPMC, we try very hard to care for our caregivers and nurses, and to let them know how valued they are. We offer sign-on bonuses, benefits like tuition assistance and reimbursement, and have a robust employee experience program.”

However, not all sectors are affected by the contracted labor market equally. Mining, logging, manufacturing and wholesale industries are significantly trailing other industries, according to published reports.

And the Pittsburgh region is outperforming most of the nation in a handful of sectors — specifically those that had higher restrictions during the early stages of the pandemic. Those sectors include construction, retail, educational services, and leisure and hospitality.

Additionally, according to the Pennsylvania Economy League report, jobs in the transportation and warehousing sectors are bouncing back quickly to pre-pandemic levels due to the rapid rebound in distribution and travel.

At Penn State Greater Allegheny, one of the McKeesport area’s largest employers, there has not been much evidence of a contracted labor market, said Victoria Garwood, director of strategic planning and communications.

Positions posted in the last two years have been filled in a timely manner, and with plenty of interest from quality candidates, she said.

“Last fall, we welcomed new admissions counselors, a campus registrar, and a faculty member who is supporting our Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management major,” Garwood said. “This fall, we will welcome two new faculty members: one supporting our new Social Work program, and another supporting our Energy Engineering program.  We also recently welcomed new employees to our Physical Plant staff.”

She said the university’s reputation as an “innovative, diverse, and supportive campus community” makes it a desirable place to work.

Alvarez said UPMC, too, is trying to make sure its employees feel “fulfilled and taken care of,” especially as COVID-19 cases begin to rise again in the region.

“The stress of the pandemic has certainly put a strain on health care providers,” Alvarez said. “Nurses and other health care workers have been lauded as heroes, and they are, but they’ve seen a lot of sadness and tragedy over the last year and a half; it’s very difficult to let that go.”

The health system is continuing to evaluate its own recruitment and retention efforts, he said.

Briem said it’s not clear yet how the Pittsburgh area labor market will recover. Many older workers who dropped out of the labor force due to COVID have probably made permanent decisions about their futures — such as to take retirement — which will continue to impact the area’s economy, he said.

For the younger generation of workers, especially undergraduate and graduate students, the bounce back to pre-COVID levels will depend heavily on how many are willing and able to return to campus.

“Given public health circumstances changing so much of late I have no predictions on that, but one of the main things I will be looking at going forward will be how the local labor markets shift in the fall once the students get back,“ said Briem.

Siana Emery is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh’s South Hilltop. She has also written for The Mennonite World Review, Goshen College Communications and Marketing and The Goshen College Record. She may be reached at sianaemery@gmail.com.

Originally published August 04, 2021.

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