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Rep. Williams Meets with Business Owners to Discuss Worker Shortage

June 15, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. As businesses in Texas' 25th Congressional district and across the country recover from COVID-19, they're being met with severe worker shortages. The National Federation of Independent Business' (NFIB) monthly jobs report stated a record-high 48% of owners in May reported unfilled job openings. In response, Representative Roger Williams (TX-25)spent the latest district work period traveling throughout TX-25 to hear first-hand from business owners how the worker shortage is affecting them, their experiences, and the road ahead.

One consistent factor among all of the conversations was the devastating impact that prolonged enhanced unemployment benefits are having on the workforce. Currently, individuals can receive up to $2,600 a monthon average from state and federal unemployment benefits. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce found 49% of Americans who lost their job during the pandemic are not active in searching for new employment. This paired with increased consumer demand has left many businesses with little recourse as workers refuse openings thanks to Democrats' unemployment extensions under the American Rescue Plan. Though Governor Abbot opted Texas out of enhanced unemployment from the federal government effective this month, there's still much damage that's already been done for small businesses hoping to fully reopen and meet the needs of their customers.

As a small business owner, Congressman Williams understands how challenging a year of government mandated shutdowns and prolonged unemployment benefits have been for business owners. He knows that in order to get our economy back to pre-pandemic levels we can't afford for people to willingly remain on the sidelines, opting for government assistance instead of a paycheck. The Congressman will continue to build upon these productive conversations with businesses from a variety of industries, and continue to represent Main Street America in Washington.

Statements from TX-25 business owners on employee shortages:

"As we discussed with the Congressman during our visit, the labor shortage issue is a real and concerning issue. We were continuously growing each and every year until the pandemic hit. We are currently postponing any new projects with existing and new customers until we feel confident that we can fulfill their needs. We are also not fulfilling our current customers' needs on a weekly basis as we struggle to recruit new employees. Overall we are down around 44% in overall capacity from where we were in the prior year and unfortunately that percentage continues to increase slowly due to the labor shortage issues. We really need some help in changing the current labor shortage trend we and everyone else in Texas is seeing." - Paul Maes, V.P. of Operations at Double B Foods

"It was a pleasure hosting Congressman Williams and his team. We appreciate the feedback from Congressman Williams regarding tax support for businesses and initiatives to get folks back to work in this market. Onboarding has been challenging as we come out of the pandemic, with some entry level (no experience required) positions staying open 6+ weeks, waiting for a suitable candidate. Although these positions are competitive in pay within our community, we are still searching for motivated candidates."Brian Nelson, General Manager at Oil States Industries, Inc.

"The ongoing labor shortage in our state has reduced our pool of staff to inexperienced youth. Experienced staff are better suited to make decisions in the work place and help train young staff entering the workforce. For us in particular, how to treat guests in our chocolate shop. A teen treats everyone like another teen, while a mature person knows what good customer service looks like because they have experienced it and have some expectations. I'm hopeful we will see this issue ease as more Texans return to the workforce in the coming months."- Kevin Wenzel, Owner of Wiseman House Chocolates

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Congressman Roger Williams represents the 25th Congressional District of Texas and serves as a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and as Vice-Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee.