As the worker shortage crisis continues to cause major headaches for small businesses, a new U.S. Chamber and MetLife poll finds that hiring challenges are causing the majority of small business owners to change the way they recruit and retain employees.  

According to new data from the Q1 2022 MetLife and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index (SBI), over half of small businesses (56%) say they are concerned about recruiting enough new employees to fill open positions, and 57% are concerned about employee retention. 

Larger small businesses (20-499 employees), in particular, find employee retention a challenge: they rank employee retention (21%) alongside inflation (24%), supply chain disruptions (25%), and COVID-19 (26%) as their highest concerns.

The struggles that small businesses are experiencing in hiring reflect the reality of a historically tight labor market. The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that there are 11.3 million job openings in the U.S., but only 6.3 million unemployed workers. 

Small businesses make changes to retain employees

A near record-high of 37% of small businesses surveyed plan to increase staff this year, according to the poll, taken January 14 – 26, 2022. To attract workers amid a shortage of talent, small businesses are offering new benefits and opportunities to recruit and retain workers.

A majority (60%) of small businesses say they have implemented new changes over the past year to improve employee retention, including:

• increasing work schedule flexibility (37%)
• increasing wages (31%) and
• providing employees with more opportunities to learn/grow (29%).

Looking ahead, less than half (48%) of small businesses agree that worker shortages across the country will be resolved in 2022. But most small businesses feel they are well placed to win the war for talent: a majority said their business has a clear plan in place to retain their employees (76%) or find and attract new ones (68%). 

What small business owners are saying:

“Utah has performed well compared to other state economies, but the tight labor will continue to put downward pressure on growth.” – Natalie Kaddas, CEO, Kaddas Enterprises based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“The biggest challenge we’re facing right now is finding ready, willing, and able to work employees in the United States. And it’s not unique to us, it’s a challenge all of our neighbors are facing at the same time.” – Joe Shamess, Co-Founder and Owner, Flags of Valor, based in Winchester, Virginia.  

“Rising costs on everything has definitely impacted us… We are diligently working continually to cut back on unnecessary costs and reduce our monthly expenses.” – Bill Rossi, President, Rossi Enterprises based in Chicago, Illinois.

Inflation, supply chain disruptions are other top worries

According to the Index, the vast majority (85%) of small business owners are concerned about the impact of inflation. More than two in three businesses (67%) report having to raise prices to cope with inflation.

One in three (33%) small business owners now rank inflation as their biggest challenge, up from 23% last quarter. Other top challenges include:

• Supply chain disruptions (26%), jumping eight percentage points since last quarter
• COVID-19 safety protocols/compliance (24%)
• Revenue (21%)
• Employee well-being/morale (14%).

Despite the challenges, the current SBI score is 64.1, the highest score since the start of the pandemic. This score is up from last quarter’s score of 63 and the nadir of the pandemic in 2020 Q2 when the score reached a record low of 39.

For more findings from this quarter, and to explore and browse years of small business data,  visit https://www.uschamber.com/sbindex/.

The CompetePA Coalition, which includes the PA Chamber of Business and Industry, participated in days of action at the PA State Capitol last week to advocate for a reduction to Pennsylvania’s burdensome Corporate Net Income Tax. Over three days, coalition members met with numerous PA House and Senate members to advocate for the CNI reduction to better position Pennsylvania more competitively.

Few issues draw as much attention as a state’s tax climate for companies seeking to locate or expand operations. At 9.99 percent, Pennsylvania has the unfortunate distinction of having the country’s second-highest CNI tax which serves as a major red flag to potential investors. It puts the Commonwealth at a disadvantage as businesses look to more pro-growth states to open or expand operations.

Furthermore, the Tax Foundation ranked Pennsylvania 44th out of 50 states in an analysis of overall corporate tax burden. Pennsylvania has lost billions in economic opportunities as businesses have chosen to invest elsewhere, where states are more business-friendly.

This year, there appears to be increased bipartisan support for passage of a CNI reduction as many Republican and Democratic lawmakers, and Governor Tom Wolf support it.

The CompetePA coalition has over 160 members throughout the Commonwealth, including statewide and regional business groups, small businesses and Fortune 500 companies that together represent more than half of the private sector employment in the Commonwealth.

Bloomsburg Y Conducting Needs Assessment

The Bloomsburg Area YMCA is conducting a community needs assessment within its service areas of Bloomsburg and Columbia County.  The survey launched this week and based on the responses to this assessment, the Y will be designing and delivering new and enhanced programs and services that address critical issues in the areas of youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.  We are asking residents and business leaders to complete the survey so that we may respond to our community’s most critical social needs and ensure that we are doing our very best to serve our communities.

The survey can be found at https://survey.sogosurvey.com/r/NMgRme.  Responses to the online survey are not individually tracked and are kept confidential. The assessment should take approximately five minutes to complete, and the results will be compiled into an executive summary that will be shared with community partners.

Anyone with questions regarding the survey can contact Wayne Stump at wstump@bloomsburgy.org or 570-784-0188.

The Chamber began resuming in-person opportunities for member on Tuesday morning, welcoming in its newest members and other potential members who wanted to learn how Chamber membership could provide value to their organizations. The Chamber Orientation was held at the LCBC Church in Bloomsburg.

Those in attendance learned about the various benefits of Chamber membership and what the organization is doing on daily basis to support members and the greater employer community. The presentation focused on the five main areas of member value: Advocacy, Benefits Programs, Business Connections, Employee Development, and Strengthening Our Communities.

Couldn’t make the Chamber Orientation? Click here to view the presentation.

The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce is excited to be holding events in-person again for members to make valuable connections. Is your organization ready to highlight or showcase what you have been working on? A perfect way to do that is by hosting a Business After Hours. The popular networking events resume in April. Business After Hours invite members to learn about the services and products offered by the host in a relaxed setting. For more information, contact Jeremy at the Chamber at jclausen@columbiamontourchamber.com. 

Let’s talk about YouTube! Are you thinking of creating a YouTube channel? Are you currently using YouTube for your business? Not sure how to get started or how to build your channel? This is the webinar for you. Get best practices for creating a YouTube channel and compelling video content that promotes your products and services and drives engagement with your brand. In this workshop, you’ll discuss the best practices for:

• Why you should have a YouTube channel
• How to set up a YouTube channel
• What’s important to fill out when uploading a video
• Making good creative, and how to target and measure the results

This event is presented by the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center and will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 27th. You can register here.

Some of the most impactful decisions a person makes during the course of a year regards those pertaining to personal healthcare for themselves and any affected family members.  For those who are employed, company benefit programs can provide a safety net that offers significant financial protection against any financial obligations arising from such medical situations. 

For employers this presents a challenge, especially in today’s work-from-home environment.  The process of communicating benefit options and boosting employee engagement can be complex and time-consuming as human resource staff must consider the mixed demographics, capabilities and diverse needs of the workforce. Complicating matters, there’s no one-size-fits all communication method to reach all employees. 

But the importance of designing an effective communication strategy cannot be overstated.  The value placed on a company benefit program is a key component in the employer’s ability to attract and retain quality talent.  And employees who understand and utilize a well-designed benefit program are typically more engaged, resulting in a workforce that is typically more productive…resulting in a win for both employer and employees.

The Columbia-Montour Chamber of Commerce offers its members access to My Benefit Advisor as a solution for employee benefits, including voluntary offerings. For more information about My Benefit Advisor, visit our website at cmcc.mybenefitadvisor.com or contact Glynis Roberts at (800) 377-3539.

 The Innovative Manufacturers’ Center (IMC) is proud to announce online voting for the 2nd year of the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” (WSCM) Central Susquehanna student video contest. Voting will commence Tuesday, March 29, 12:01AM, and remain open until Thursday, March 31, 11:59PM, on Central Susquehanna’s contest page here. The winner will be announced during an awards event to be held April 25th.

Regional school districts participating in this year’s video contest include Central Columbia, Danville, Lewisburg, Millville, Selinsgrove, Warrior Run and Williamsport.

Student videos compete for the most votes to win the coveted “Viewers Choice Award.” The videos will also be reviewed by a panel of judges for awards in three other categories, including Outstanding Overall Program, Outstanding Team Spirit and Outstanding Brand Placement.

 “We are excited to see our school districts and communities participate and support the hard work the students, teachers and manufacturers have put into this program,” said Lauri Moon, Co-Manager of the Central Susquehanna WSCM regional contest. “Online voting affords everyone the opportunity to participate and see the videos while further spreading the message about cool career opportunities in local manufacturing.”

The WSCM program was created to generate excitement that draws students toward STEM education opportunities and to consider manufacturing career paths as they engage with local manufacturers, recording and presenting their experiences in an educational and “cool” way through documentary video production.

WSCM Central Susquehanna will choose two videos to represent the region in the 9th Annual “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” PA Statewide Awards May 18th in Harrisburg.

 About “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing”:

Developed by Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC), WSCM program is a video based educational tool that increases awareness of career paths in manufacturing. MRC developed this innovative career awareness program that at its core is “peer marketing” (kids telling kids what’s so cool about manufacturing jobs). The contest is showcased on the What’s So Cool website and

This contest gives students the opportunity to connect with local manufacturers, document their experiences and present them in an educational and “cool” way. The contest was created to generate excitement that draws students towards manufacturing career paths, and CTE and STEM education.

For more information, visit whatssocool.org.

The Columbia County Board of Commissioners, working with SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG), have engaged Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. (HRG) to develop the Fishing Creek Flood Mitigation Study.  The goal of the study is to:

• Identify flooding problem areas within the County’s 18 municipalities,
• Mitigation options for the problems identified and implementable projects offered as a solution to those problems.

The study kicked off with a public meeting in July 2021 and a follow up public meeting held at the end of November 2021.

The County is holding a final public meeting to present the findings and recommendations of the study to the public, municipal officials, and its residents. The meeting will be held Thursday, March 31st starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Large Meeting Room, 702 Sawmill Road, Bloomsburg, PA 17815. Entrance for the meeting room is at the rear of the building.

For individuals who are unable to attend this event in-person, a pre-recorded presentation will become available on Monday, April 4th at: https://seda-cog.org/departments/flood-resiliency/columbia-county-flood-mitigation-studies/, under the “Other Resources” section.

A final report will be issued following this meeting.

HRG will start its presentation with an overview of their final report study findings and then break out into an open house session with smaller, more specialized areas presenting findings by sub-watershed study area for a personalized experience. The large Fishing Creek Study area has been broken down into four sub-watershed study areas:

• Upper Fishing Creek
• Middle Fishing Creek
• Little Fishing Creek
• Hemlock Creek/Lower Fishing Creek

Reservations can be accepted online at https://seda-cog.org/events/event/fishing-creek-flood-mitigation-study-3/ or by calling Geralee Zeigler, SEDA-COG’s Flood Resiliency Program Analyst, at 570-522-7218.  SEDA-COG is assisting Columbia County in the grant administration of the studies. The study has been financed by grants from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Financing Authority and the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Solo Pianist Performs for Free at Weis Center, Pieces Will Evoke Images of Landscapes or Dream States

Pianist Qing Jiang will perform on Sunday, April 3 at 2 p.m. at the Weis Center for the Performing Arts. The performance is free and tickets are not required.

The performance is sponsored, in part, by Geisinger. 

Praised by The New York Times as a “fiery musician” whose playing is “vigorous and passionate,” Chinese-born pianist Qing Jiang has performed to acclaim across the United States and abroad, including at Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall as well as the U.K.’s Snape Maltings Hall and China’s Shenzhen Poly Theater. Jiang is an assistant professor of music at Bucknell University and piano faculty at the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in Maine. 

Passionate about the chamber and contemporary music, Jiang has performed alongside Itzhak Perlman, Gil Kalish as well as with members of the Emerson, Juilliard, Shanghai, Kronos, Jasper and Parker string quartets. 

While at the Weis Center, she will present works from a solo album recorded in the fall of 2021. All of the works evoke images of landscapes or dream states. The repertoire includes Maurice Ravel’s Sonatine “Jeux d’eau,” Leoš Janáček’s “In the Mists,” Isaac Albéniz’s “Iberia Book I,” Thomas Adès’ “Mazurkas” and Daniel Temkin’s “Dreamed Landscapes.”

Seating for the spring 2022 season is socially distanced and general admission; specific seats cannot be reserved. Masks are required.

While on campus, patrons must abide by all Bucknell University health and safety guidelines, including maintaining social distancing and wearing appropriate face coverings, if still being implemented.

These protocols may be subject to change at any time. Please continue to visit our website for the most up-to-date information at Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter.

For more information about this event, contact Lisa Leighton, marketing and outreach director, at 570-577-3727 or by e-mail at lisa.leighton@bucknell.edu.

For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, go to Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or search for the Weis Center on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

The Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) has unanimously approved a Department of Labor & Industry regulation to raise pay for those who receive a “tipped minimum wage.” Under the updated regulation, the amount in tips a worker must receive monthly would increase from $30 to $135 before the employer can pay that employee the tipped wage of $2.83/hour.

Additional changes under the updated regulations are as follows:

• Aligns the 80/20 rule for employer tip credits with recently-updated federal regulations
• Allows for tip pooling with certain restrictions for manager and business owners
• Prohibits employers from deducting processing fees from employee tips
• Requires businesses to clarify that service charges are not gratuities for tipped employees

Upon approval by the Office of Attorney General, the updates will go into effect in 90 days.

Click here for more details.