COVID-19 Trends

COVID-19 Trends

Exploring the impact on Main Streets

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Blog Series

The COVID-19 Trends Blog Series, authored by Matthew Wagner, Ph.D., Vice President of Revitalization Programs, delves into how the pandemic is impacting downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts and explores the challenges and opportunities arising from the crisis.

Beyond COVID - Workforce as the Next Big Challenge for Main Streets

September 9, 2021 | Place professionals and those engaged with small businesses have been seeing first-hand the challenges of hiring and retaining labor in this early post-vaccine rollout era. Trends show that these issues have been caused by factors ranging from continued health and safety concerns to a dramatic movement of entry-level labor from retail and restaurants to supply chain-related jobs. Stacked against 20,000 new jobs from Wal-Mart and over $20 starting salaries plus $2,000 starting bonuses from Amazon, what can place professionals and small business owners do to be competitive? 

In this post, Matthew Wagner, Ph.D., Chief Program Officer at Main Street America, provides key guidance on how Main Street programs can use their creativity as an opportunity to create a new competitive position for what labor is seeking beyond a wage war.

READ IT HERE