During any other winter, employees may be focused on how to best improve their situation in their workplace. Whether it be making a final push to be recognized with a holiday bonus or picking up new best practices in their workplace role, many individuals spend the final months of the calendar year looking to thrive. However, this year, many employees are simply looking to survive.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, hiring gains started to slip this September, as many Americans saw their temporary layoffs turn into permanent firings from their jobs. As unemployment support from state and local governments has slowed down, this leaves many Americans desperate to find a job, bring in some income, and maintain some stake in our national economy.
Interestingly, some cities may be better than others for meeting the needs of displaced employees. According to a new analysis from GetResponse.com, over the past few months, some cities have seen tens of thousands of more jobs made available for local residents than other cities. As the study revealed, over 140,000 jobs have become available in New York City during the pandemic, while in El Paso, Texas, less than 6,500 job postings were shared. While there is certainly a discrepancy in the number of residents whom these jobs would be available for, the difference in numbers is staggering.
It’s also worth noting that COVID-19 has made some jobs obsolete. According to a report from Brookings, the conversion to remote work has led many employers to rethink their business structures, making some in-person jobs no longer necessary even when our economy rebounds post-COVID-19. And so, even for the cities with the most jobs available, employees should not expect to return to the labor market that they left behind earlier this year.
And so as we move into this uncertain and scary winter, employees should expect some level of fear around our shared economic woes. We will all share this fear, and, perhaps, the best thing to do is find community in our mutual determination to beat this anxiety.