Oct. 9—WILKES-BARRE — Jill Avery-Stoss, Director of Operations at The Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development, this week said workforce challenges were firmly rooted in the nation's economic landscape well before the onset of COVID-19.

Avery-Stoss said the pandemic has only worsened issues related to worker recruitment, hiring, and retention. Avery-Stoss said that the pandemic has negatively affected attendance and productivity as well.

"Service occupations experience 4.2% absence rates, for instance," she states. "The absence rates specific to circumstances other than injury or illness equal 1.1%."

Avery-Stoss said the Bureau of Labor Statistics defines the absence rate as "the ratio of workers with absences to total full-time wage and salary employment."

With absence rates of 3.6, Avery-Stoss said similar challenges arise in education and health service industries, along with wholesale and retail trade. In particular, the absence rate among education and health service workers is 1.2%.

"Workers in education and health services industries lose approximately 0.8 percent of their scheduled work time to absenteeism," Avery-Stoss adds. "It is unlikely that high degrees of absenteeism and lost work time amid largely female-occupied areas (such as education and health care, and for reasons other than illness or injury) are entirely coincidental."

Research conducted by the Bipartisan Policy Center cites childcare concerns as barriers to performance and productivity on the job, and employment in general. Women are typically the primary caregivers in their families, and often likelier than their male partners to miss work due to lack of childcare.

According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, "From pre-pandemic times through May 2020, the change in labor force participation rates among parent-age adults equated to a loss of about 1.5 million female workers, nearly twice the losses of their male counterparts."

Although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advises that affordable childcare should not exceed 7% of household income, an estimate from the Bipartisan Policy Center suggests that the rate is closer to 20% for families with children under six years old — and rises to 26% for those living below poverty level. Infant care is particularly expensive, at an average of $11,000 per year — exceeding the cost of public college in many states. In Pennsylvania, over a quarter of families are unable to afford it.

"In addition to cost-related concerns, very few childcare providers operate outside traditional hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. — the times during which shift workers are in need of assistance," states Avery-Stoss. "In fact, 29% of parents report need for childcare outside those traditional hours."

Avery-Stoss said with such a large warehousing sector, shift work is prevalent in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

"Employers understand the importance of workers' family lives, but they may not always understand the important roles they can play in alleviating such stressors," Avery-Stoss said. "Company-supported childcare is emerging as a popular solution among larger businesses, however. Some businesses have the resources to open on-site care facilities. Some subsidize childcare costs. Others offer remote work opportunities, flexible scheduling, or simply ensure that their shift work aligns with community childcare resources."

Avery-Stoss said "there may not be one solution for everyone, but there are plenty of options to suit a wide range of needs — and which demonstrate returns in the form of improved attendance, productivity, and employee morale."

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.