48% Of WI Small Businesses Need Workers: Report

MILWAUKEE, WI — About 48 percent of small businesses in Wisconsin will need new workers for the next six months, LendingTree said in a report released June 28.

Wisconsin ranked second among 10 states where businesses were most in need of workers for the next six months, the report said. Some 30 percent of Wisconsin businesses said being unable to find workers was affecting their operating capacity, LendingTree added.

Wisconsin businesses have seen worker shortages since April 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic spiked. Slowed vaccination rates, supplemental unemployment benefits and competition with larger businesses with more resources have made it difficult for small businesses to find workers, the report suggested.

Vaccination rates, which have slowed from their peak in April 2021, were a potential reason for worker shortages, LendingTree said. "That’s especially relevant to companies that require in-person work, as the pandemic has deeply impacted those businesses," it added.

Montana ranked first in the list. Some 52 percent of its businesses sought workers, and 28 percent said a lack of workers was affecting their operations, the report said.

Wisconsin, like Montana, has an unemployment rate that falls below the national average, the report said. It added that Montana has pulled out of its supplemental unemployment benefits program, which could increase its pool of potential applicants.

Wisconsin's Legislature could also end its unemployment supplement program early, the report said. "That could mean more individuals in those states having to reenter the workforce," LendingTree said.

See Also: Work Searches Return For People Claiming Unemployment Insurance

Small businesses may also have trouble competing with larger businesses with more resources to attract people during the labor shortage, the report said.

LendingTree pulled data for its report from the U.S. Census Bureau's Small Business Pulse Survey. The online marketplace's researchers also analyzed factors affecting businesses’ operating capacity and focused on the availability of employees to work.