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Belabored shortages
Faced with a shortage of drivers, Trevor Dunlap had to find a new way to recruit interested candidates for his Chesapeake-based trucking and warehousing companies, Givens Transportation Inc. and Givens Inc. “It’s very challenging to find qualified people and then be able to retain them,” he says, “and the wages we’re paying are substantially higher […]
Va. CEOs say labor shortages, inflation hurting business
Labor shortages and inflation are negatively impacting Virginia businesses, and expectations for sales, employment and capital spending are less positive than during the previous two quarters, according to the third quarter CEO Economic Outlook Survey by the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business and the Virginia Council of CEOs (VACEOs). More than 80% of […]
Fifth District economy little changed since August, Fed says
The economy in the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District (a multistate region including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland) has been largely unchanged since August, according to the latest edition of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, released Wednesday. Published eight times per year, the Beige Book is based on anecdotal information about economic […[...]
Fighting back
Inflation and supply chain problems have pushed up the price of citric acid by 200%. That’s a problem for Crystal Wellman because citric acid is a primary ingredient in bath products she sells at Sugar + Spruce, her bath, body and skin care products shop in downtown Fredericksburg. Wellman could try just raising prices, but […]
Va. layoffs and discharges down in June
Virginia companies put the brakes on layoffs in June, even as workers continued to seek new opportunities, refueling the Great Resignation. Virginia had 28,000 layoffs and discharges in June, a decrease of 13,000 from May, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data released last week. That marked […]
Legal review
In law firms across Virginia, power is now definitely on the side of individual attorneys, who can command larger salaries and other perks so long as they’re willing to cope with heavier workloads. As demand for legal services has soared, the number of lawyers available to perform that work has slumped, leaving even the most […]
Summer dreams
Tournaments at the Virginia Beach Sports Center. Events at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. A busy Oceanfront boardwalk. That was the scene in Virginia Beach during just one weekend in mid-March. And it was the perfect “prelude” to the summer travel season, says John Zirkle, general manager of the DoubleTree by Hilton Virginia Beach. “The […]
Roanoke Times union, Lee settle on new contract
The Roanoke Times newsroom union said Tuesday it has agreed on a new two-year contract with owner Lee Enterprises, following a brief picket line last week. Members of the Timesland News Guild, which represents 30 employees of The Roanoke Times and Laker Weekly, will receive 2% annual raises, and minimum full-time pay will rise about […]
Roanoke Times union pickets over wages, mileage
The Roanoke Times’ newsroom union staged its first-ever picket line briefly Monday as a message to the newspaper’s owners, Lee Enterprises, which the union says won’t budge on requested salary and mileage reimbursement increases. Alison Graham, vice chair of the Timesland News Guild and a staff writer at The Roanoke Times, said earlier Monday that […]
The big crunch
Although the “Great Resignation” is hitting other industries harder, Virginia law firms are experiencing a tight labor market while also seeing increased demand for services. Alison McKee, a past president of the Virginia Bar Association and an attorney at Kaufman & Canoles PC in Virginia Beach, notes that “2021 was the busiest year in a […]
GMU establishes health workforce center
George Mason University has established the Mason Center for the Health Workforce, the university announced Monday. The new center, directed by PJ Maddox and Caroline Sutter, will address the shortage and immediate need for health care workers in Virginia. It will serve as a technical assistance center for health workforce research, program evaluation, planning and […]
Rethinking labor
Back in my big company days, large newspapers were heavily unionized. After railroads and before high tech, newspaper publishers were the media barons of the day. The business was capital intensive, requiring once-in-a-generation investments for big presses and printing facilities. It was also high on fixed costs, with payroll being the largest expense before newsprint […]
