Deep Dive: Labor shortage impacting goods and service in New York

A labor shortage is having an impact on goods and services, which has led to more closures or trouble getting items as people shop for the holidays.

News 12 Staff

Dec 10, 2021, 12:37 PM

Updated 1,030 days ago

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A labor shortage is having an impact on goods and services, which has led to more closures or trouble getting items as people shop for the holidays.
In this week's Deep Dive poll, News 12 viewers were asked, what impact they are feeling due to the labor shortage.
On Long Island, 44% say they're experiencing trouble getting goods and services.
In the Bronx, it was a tie between, trouble getting goods and services and less customer service.
In Brooklyn, it was trouble getting goods and services there as well, and in Westchester it was close, but more closures had a majority of the votes.
Something that is playing a big role in all of this are the unemployment numbers.
"That labor shortage is real and there are plenty of jobs out there. The unemployment rate in New York though is 6.9%. That is the fourth highest in the country and when we look at the counties we track, it is New York City that has an unemployment rate of 8.4%, double the national average, but around the other counties, Westchester 4.2%, Suffolk County and Nassau County at 4%. So, you are seeing labor market improvements outside of the city," says Caleb Silver, of Investopedia.
Silver also explains that the strongest and weakest sectors for hiring right now are in leisure and hospitality.
"It's leisure and hospitality which also saw the steepest job losses amid the pandemic. We have seen a 10% rise in leisure and hospitality jobs, but almost a 30% rise when you look at parks and recreation and entertainment. That tells you the entertainment industry is coming back and the jobs are following. In terms of where the jobs aren't, it is in construction and government jobs.