2022 Labor Market Predictions
If the last few years have taught us anything, it's that it's very difficult to predict anything anymore. But economists are still hard at work trying to predict how the southern California labor market will grow in 2022, to give Californians an idea of what the economy, the job market, and even real estate will do as we start another year post-Covid.
Almost 3,000 California jobs disappeared at the start of the pandemic, and just a little over half of these jobs have made a comeback. When you consider that the national average of job recovery across the country is 70%, this is not a good statistic for the California labor market. Extended restrictions for businesses at the beginning of the pandemic is one of the most significant reasons why it’s taking California so long to get people back to work and get businesses open again. Because it took so much longer for restrictions to lift for business owners, the labor market suffered.
Southern California endured fifteen devastating months of loss, resulting in a rapid decline in the economy. And it’s not done. Economists are hopeful that the labor market will continue to make a slow but steady comeback in 2022.
Over the summer, there was a rapid burst in employment, specifically in the leisure and hospitality industries. As travel restrictions were lifted, more and more people got back out into the community, went out to restaurants, spent money on entertainment, booked staycations, and resumed normal routines such as visits to the barber and retail shopping. During this time, there was a noticeable increase in tech, trade, and informational services jobs. Transportation jobs picked back up as people felt more comfortable using public transportation.
Southern California, especially Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Riverside, and Ventura counties, had the most significant job growth last year compared to the rest of the state. Because of the location of the area's two largest ports, Southern California saw an increase in activity in trade and transportation services.
With all of this in mind, economists are looking into 2022 with optimism. Projected growth for non farming jobs is forecasted to be hit between 3-3.5% in 2022. This growth will be fueled by many different aspects, including:
● The high demand for “normalcy” and the desire of thousands of people to have access to service-related business, after two years of restrictions.
● People are and will continue, to spend more money after a prolonged season of saving
● Higher levels of confidence from consumers who feel better about getting back into the labor market due to the widespread distribution of vaccines.
Another factor that economists are keeping their eye on is the unemployment rate in California. Currently, the unemployment rate in Southern California sits at 8.8%, the highest in the entire state. But predictions have it dropping to 6.7% by next year. And while these are the slow and steady improvements California residents are hoping to see, the truth is that the unemployment rate is still significantly higher than the US average, and will be in 2022 as well.
How Southern California Businesses Can Thrive Through The Labor Market In 2022
Covid forced business owners to get creative when it came to saving their businesses, and some of these practices that many owners thought were temporary are now the new normal. More and more people are working from home and adopting a remote workplace strategy, while temp workers are keeping small businesses running for the long term. With so many places desperate for workers, temp agencies are seeing an influx in small and medium-sized companies turning to temp agencies in southern California to get them the workers they need.
How To Get Ahead Of The Labor Market In 2022
If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that business owners have to be resourceful, innovative, and flexible. They have to find new ways to implement traditional strategies and fine-tune the way they hire, train, and recruit new workers. One of the best ways to do this is to work with a staffing agency in Southern California. This option connects businesses with a reliable workforce that can mean the difference between a challenging year and a profitable one.
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