As vaccination rates continue to climb and the number of COVID-19 cases continue to drop, Georgia’s leaders are focusing on the workforce and the needs of employers in every region and industry across the state and the country.
On a national level, Congressman Jody Hice (R-GA) wrote a letter yesterday to Office of Personnel Management Acting Director Kathleen McGettigan calling for the federal workforce to return to the workplace. And on a state level, Labor Commissioner Mark Butler announced that the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) is shifting its focus to reemployment in a strategic effort to help meet the needs of employers through Employ Georgia – the state’s official labor exchange system. According to Butler, job listings are currently the highest ever recorded, reaching numbers of almost a quarter of a million jobs that could include multiple positions for each listing.
“We are hearing from employers that are struggling to meet demand right now due to the lack of applicants for open positions,” said Butler. “Our mission is to not only bridge the pay gap for those who are temporarily unemployed, but to also provide reemployment support for those who are looking to reenter the workforce– filling the critical vacancies we are seeing in almost every industry right now. I hear every day from employers who have been forced to reduce business hours, refuse large deliveries, and turn down economic opportunities due to the simple fact that they did not have the staff to support them.”
The GDOL provides online support to job seekers looking to rejoin the workforce or find a better career. Claimants receive access to over 240,000 job listings, support to upload up to five searchable resumes, job search assistance, career counseling, skills testing, job fair information, job training services, and accessibility and special accommodations for people with disabilities and veterans transitioning back into the workplace.
As of earlier this week, almost 239,000 jobs are listed on EmployGeorgia for Georgians to access. In many cases, employers are willing to train quality candidates and assist with attainment of additional credentials.
On the national level, Hice emphasized in his letter to McGettigan how vaccination rates and COVID-19 immunity are rapidly rising across the United States and that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced vaccinated Americans no longer have to wear masks or social distance in most indoor and outdoor settings. He highlighted how prolonged remote work has negatively impacted many Americans, especially veterans, Social Security beneficiaries and others who need prompt service from federal agencies, and how some agencies have failed to provide sufficient resources for personnel to be fully productive during maximum telework.
“Thanks to President Trump’s strong leadership and Operation Warp Speed, our nation has access to life-saving vaccines in record time. COVID-19 cases are plummeting across the country and it’s past time for the federal workforce to return to their places of work,” said Hice. “Prolonged remote work is harming Americans’ access to federal agencies and is costing taxpayers. OPM needs to prepare federal employees to return to the workforce immediately. America’s government should be leading the way out of the pandemic, not lagging behind the rest of the country.”
He called on OPM to provide a briefing on the agency’s plans to have employees return to their normal places of work no later than May 25, 2021.
