There is an old saying: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Even during the current economic uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 health crisis, the workforce needs of Southwest Florida businesses are very similar to their pre-crisis needs.
According to a poll of Southwest Florida Human Resource departments conducted in May-June 2020, approximately 36.2 percent of the responding businesses indicated that finding, hiring, and training a qualified workforce during relaunch or within the subsequest 6-12 months is their biggest challenge. It is important to note, however, that these responses were given early in the pandemic before Florida’s COVID-19 spike in the July-August 2020 timeframe. Unfortunately, the pandemic’s course is still highly uncertain as 2020 comes to a close and as employers hope for better times in 2021.
