In northeastern Pennsylvania, so often a microcosm of national trends, communities face workforce challenges as pandemic life gradually recedes. In the Poconos, where tourism is a multibillion-dollar annual industry, the hospitality sector struggles to find workers. “In our neighborhood, you go to any restaurant, any hotel, any waterpark, and everyone is short-staffed,” one restaurant owner told the Pocono Record. The co-owner of a Scranton-based grocery chain noted that he “could probably hire about 100 people today.”
Such anecdotes are illustrative of northeastern Pennsylvania’s services-sector labor market but also reflective of similar regions at the state and national levels. As the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted earlier this year, the pandemic era will contribute to major employment declines among occupations that don’t require advanced education degrees. This includes major industries in the northeast’s Poconos and anthracite coal region such as food services, retail, and transportation. Meanwhile, occupations in medicine, technology, and the health sciences are expected to grow.
Read Full Article »