A
Th e
Component Manufacturing dverti$er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
The
Adverti$er
June 2020 #12251 Page #90
Hiring Zone
A Possible Forecast for Hiring Thomas McAnally Publisher
Housing Starts
applaud employers who haven’t laid people off so far, but I can’t help but think of 2007 when hiring quickly dried up. Back then, hiring slammed on the brakes while the rest of the economy slowly ground to a halt over the next year.
I
This time, it is not a financial problem stalling the economy, but the results are looking all too familiar. Hiring of Truss and Panel Designers is our industry’s bellwether. Never on an even pace, it is either right now or not now. Even during a normal year, hiring cycles are up in April, down in July, back up in October and November, then mostly off until April. This year, the April rush to hire didn’t happen. Instead, we started seeing layoffs. Housing starts are down drastically year over year, unemployment is at 15%+, and for some manufacturers business is off 30%. Still, layoffs in our industry have been minimal compared to most sectors. Government is telling us that the magic bullet to get the economy back on track is a vaccine, and projections are that, while progress is being made, only 100,000 doses will be available by December. Even if they ramp up production and go all out, projections are that enough vaccine won’t be available until sometime next year. Cue the April hiring rush.
Continued next page
PHONE: 800-289-5627
Read/Subscribe online at www.componentadvertiser.com
FAX: 800-524-4982