A leading data analytics company, GlobalData revealed that The number of companies mentioning labor shortage in their filings globally increased by 28% in 2022 compared to 2021, continuing an uptrend that was witnessed in recent years, while sentiment fell by 20%.
According to GlobalData’s “Company Filings Analytics – Trends & Signals Q3 2022,” labour is the most discussed keyword around shortages in Q3 2022 Earning Calls Transcripts.
Ekta Chourasia, Analyst at GlobalData said, “As the construction industry is heavily reliant on labor, it seems to be profoundly impacted by the ongoing labor shortage issue. The shortage has resulted in increased dependence on more expensive temporary labor resources, significant increases in costs as well as delays in construction.”
Financial services companies like GTJ REIT noted that the demand for flexible working hours and remote work increased unemployment insurance benefits, early retirement, higher pay from competitors, and ongoing concerns about COVID-19 were the contributing factors to the labor shortage issue.
Zendesk, a US-based technology company, mentioned that the labour shortage contributed to an increase in wages and salaries, unfavorably impacting its expenses and operating costs. Surge Components, a provider of capacitors and semiconductors, discussed that labor shortage posed challenges to its customers’ engineering staff, causing a delay in product approval.
Consumer goods company Conagra Brands talked about persistent labor shortage affecting its capacity to effectively run production and distribution facilities. Glatfelter, a packaging company, discussed that labor shortage led to a decline in volume, impacting its profitability by approximately $900,000.
Chourasia continues, “Labour shortage, along with a high demand resulting from a post-pandemic recovery, has created supply chain issues with shortage of materials and semiconductor chips, which in turn has resulted in the rise in raw material prices and wages, pushing up prices of final consumer products and causing global inflation.”
To deal with labor shortage issues, Run Long Construction mentioned using unmanned robots to move materials. Dada Nexus, a technology company, discussed providing solutions that enable retailers to cut down on the time taken in order picking while also assisting them in coping with the labor shortage through automation and cutting-edge consulting models.
Chourasia Concludes, “To minimize reliance on labor force, companies are also focusing on research and development, and strengthen their production technology by installing advanced equipment.”
Semiconductor and supply were the other top keywords discussed around the topic. The industries with the highest labour shortage discussions include construction, technology, packaging, and consumer while financial services had the highest growth in terms of mentions.
