Frankesha Watkins, owner of a beauty supply store, has been grappling with a high employee turnover rate. Despite a slow business period, job openings are frequently listed due to unreliable transport, personal matters, or insufficient commitment to the job. Watkins expressed her challenges in keeping employees, which led to the recurrent repost of job vacancies. Regardless of the sluggish growth of her cosmetics business, she remains hopeful for better times ahead.
Meanwhile, the government is set to unveil the official employment statistics for March. These figures are essential to analysts and economists for providing insights into the state of the labor market and measuring the nation’s economic well-being. They reveal variations in employment in various sectors, unemployment rate, and wage changes within the month. Businesses, investors, and staff widely anticipate this data release, influencing their strategic planning and decision-making processes.
The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) presents a marginal change in job openings compared to the previous month.
Combatting high turnover in businesses
Although these figures are lower than recorded in 2022, they still surpass the pre-pandemic level. The data for this year mirror those of the previous month despite being less than the records of 2022.
Marcia St. Hilaire-Finn, Manager at Bright Start Early Care & Preschool, is confronted by several vacancies in her organization. The struggle to find qualified applicants has led to increased training for less skilled personnel. This has consequentially increased workload and stress among current staff, negatively impacting operations and morale. Marcia is exploring new hiring approaches, such as employee referral programs and partnerships with local colleges for a more competent potential workforce.
On a positive note, Ken Giddon, President of men’s clothing store Rothmans, has made strides in sourcing skilled employees. He observes a trend of people re-emerging in the job market after quitting during the pandemic.
Despite the high turnover rate, Watkins continues to advertise job openings, suggesting that the government’s official job total might inflate the actual hires businesses intend to make. Despite her business’s slow progress, she continues to post job listings due to frequent staff turnover, indicating a possible overstatement in the government’s official job opening figures.
