October 2021
Stop Running for Office Long Enough to Get Nevada’s Economy Moving Again
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ALL IS IN THE AIR IN THE SILVER STATE, AND IT’S TIME FOR US TO START sharing annual projections for seasonal hiring and holiday consumer spending. The catch: the pandemic is still raging on, national disasters have hit all corners of our nation amplifying existing supply chain challenges, and unprecedented challenges filling existing open positions before we even talk about the holidays. There’s a lot of unknowns going into this holiday season, but the one thing we do know is that the lack of clarity and politically driven lack of transparency from the top of our government to the bottom is fueling this fire. The recent news that the number of jobs created nationally was 225,000 instead of the 750,000 predicted by economists shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone. People are sitting on the side-lines
By Mary Lau, RAN CEO
retail is boots on the ground, smile on your face and customer interaction. There are very few work-from-home opportunities and retail is everywhere there is a need. If hiring challenges aren’t enough, the supply chain still has not caught up from the initial shutdowns in China and the United States in Continued on page 2 Mary Lau
waiting for opportunities to find them rather than answer the call that is available now. NOW HIRING signs are replacing the orange traffic cones as the official Nevada tree. By this time of year, we are typically projecting how many new seasonal positions will be filled. Not this year, the real issue for 2021 is that Nevada retailers are paying higher wages than ever, offering more incentives and still can’t fill normal positions for all sectors of our industry. The main component of
INSIDE Holiday Health Tips................. 2 One Year Later—Where is the Supply Chain?................ 3 Labor Market........................... 4 Mask Up, Lather Up, Sleeve Up................................. 5 Prescription Drug Round Up................................. 6 Halloween Spending Soars....................... 7 Retailers Detail Operational Questions for Vaccine Mandates.............. 8 OSHA To Develop New Workplace Heat Standards..... 8