As COVID-19 restrictions get lifted and Pennsylvania’s economy tries to get back on track, businesses ranging from fast-food restaurants to manufacturing are clamoring to fill job vacancies and many are saying they are having trouble luring workers.
Labor advocates, though, say businesses are not offering workers enough money in a competitive hiring market still under a pandemic cloud, and there remain obstacles for many lower-wage earners to return to jobs, such as childcare and transportation.
In Beaver County, Gregg Troian said he’s encountering a worker shortage firsthand as president of PGT Trucking, a long-haul operator. Troian said he needs 100 drivers, or about 10% of his fleet, but he struggles to find qualified people even though a new driver can make $70,000 a year.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation system will undergo a $30 million upgrade in early June, the state Department of Labor and Industry recently announced.
The move means the system will be offline for about two weeks prior to the switch, the agency said.
“The new system will be easy to use, provide access to important information and streamline the unemployment claim filing process for workers, employers, unemployment program staff, and third-party administrators,” acting L&I Secretary Jennifer Berrier said in an April 8 statement.
“The pandemic stressed an already-antiquated IT platform and we look forward to improving the process so that out-of-work Pennsylvanians can focus their time and attention on finding a new job,” she said.
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Apr 12, 2021
MAYVILLE Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel and the COVID-19 Response Team recently announced the ninth week of COVID-19 Hero nominations for April 5-9.
“This week we continue recognizing individuals doing a wide variety of work to make a positive impact on our community,” said County Executive PJ Wendel. “I want to again personally thank our week nine nominees: Cheryl Farr, Lake Shore Family Center, Rebecca Lanphere, Tanya Oltz, Ed Sluga, Steve Schade, Anthony Muscarella, Bryan Berek, Jonathan Bogue, and Andrew Ludwig. These individuals have risen to the challenge of helping others during a global pandemic, and are truly our COVID-19 Heroes.”