Never before have the nation’s small businesses had such a hard time filling open positions.
The National Federation of Small Business’ monthly jobs report showed that 42% of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill, 20 percentage points higher than the 48-year historical average of 22%. What’s more, 91% of business owners trying to hire reported few or no “qualified” applicants for the positions they were trying to fill in March while 28% of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions. Nearly a quarter 23% reported no applicants for open positions.
This is a local problem, too.
For all of our hand-wringing over job losses and people dropping out of the labor force, there are jobs open ranging from restaurants to manufacturers. Some local businesses are shutting down an extra day each week because they can’t find people who want to work.
Jan 9, 2021
The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce will present its 2020 Pam Lydic Coalition Builder Award to Mike Abbate, who has worked tirelessly for the economic betterment of Chautauqua County and to address the critical issues of education and food resources in our communities.
“I am humbled and honored to be this year’s recipient of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce Pam Lydic Coalition Builder Award,” Mike Abbate said.
Abbate started at the Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant in 1981 and served in a variety of roles there. In 2013, he was named Plant Manager, serving in that capacity until 2018. During his plant manager tenure, the plant celebrated the production of the 1.5 millionth engine and made significant investments towards the plant’s future.