[US] Vaccination is helping small businesses recover

New data shows that the US states seeing robust employment growth for small businesses are also ones where many residents are vaccinated, News Nation USA reports.

The report from small business payroll and benefits platform Gusto shows that small businesses in the service sector tended to have larger employment growth in the states with higher vaccination rates. States with a large number of new COVID-19 cases were also failing to see strong growth, compared to others.

“Public health and economic recovery are not at odds; they are deeply linked,” Luke Pardue - an economist at Gusto - wrote, “Gusto data shows public health is the surest way for the economy to recover.”

Small businesses overall are struggling to find workers. According to the latest National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) report, in June 46 per cent of small business owners had staff vacancies they could not fill. In a press release, Bill Dunkelberg - chief economist at NFIB - said, ​​”In the busy summer season, many firms haven’t been able to hire enough workers to efficiently run their businesses, which has restricted sales and output.”

The connection between high vaccination and faster recovery was highlighted by Gusto in two charts; one using new COVID cases from the weeks of June 7 and July 19 and the other using average vaccination rates from the week of June 7. Although growth varies throughout the nation, most small businesses in the service sector have seen some improvement.

Based on Gusto’s data, there may be a relationship between states where people are getting vaccinated and those seeing employment growth.

Those with low vaccination rates also appear to have lower growth. Mississippi in particular had a low vaccination rate in comparison to others, with an average of 27.9 per cent, based on data from the week of June 7. The state also saw a 2.3 per cent decline in headcount. Four of the 47 states actually saw employment declines, including Nebraska, which had a decline of 5 per cent from the week of June 7 to the week of July 19.

By contrast, Vermont reportedly stands out from the chart with its high average vaccination rate of 59.9 per cent. The state similarly had the largest employment increase among the 47 states between the week of June 7 and the week of July 19, at 17.1 per cent.

Gusto also showed a negative correlation between new COVID-19 cases and employment changes.

Tennessee stands out with a high number of new cases from the week of June 7 to the week of July 19, and employment growth of only 0.3 per cent during this period. Gusto said, “A 10 percentage point increase in new cases is correlated with a 0.1 percentage point slower rate of headcount growth.”

It is worth noting that the scatter plots show a correlation between the two, not a causal relationship.

The NFIB report found that a record 39 per cent of small businesses overall have increased compensation for workers. Employers across the US - particularly in the leisure and hospitality - sectors - have boosted pay to help recruit workers for vacant positions. According to Insider, small businesses are offering more voluntary benefits, such as pet insurance, as a way to incentivise new employees.

Not all small businesses require vaccinations; the practice varies by state. The Society for Human Resource Management’s analysis of Census small business pulse survey data found Georgia and Ohio were the two states least likely to require it.

Some job seekers may remain hesitant about returning to work in the wake of the Delta variant but new survey data from Indeed shows fewer unemployed workers surveyed in July cited concerns of COVID-19 as the reason they’re not urgently looking for work than those surveyed in June.

Source: News Nation USA

New data shows that the US states seeing robust employment growth for small businesses are also ones where many residents are vaccinated, News Nation USA reports.

The report from small business payroll and benefits platform Gusto shows that small businesses in the service sector tended to have larger employment growth in the states with higher vaccination rates. States with a large number of new COVID-19 cases were also failing to see strong growth, compared to others.

“Public health and economic recovery are not at odds; they are deeply linked,” Luke Pardue - an economist at Gusto - wrote, “Gusto data shows public health is the surest way for the economy to recover.”

Small businesses overall are struggling to find workers. According to the latest National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) report, in June 46 per cent of small business owners had staff vacancies they could not fill. In a press release, Bill Dunkelberg - chief economist at NFIB - said, ​​”In the busy summer season, many firms haven’t been able to hire enough workers to efficiently run their businesses, which has restricted sales and output.”

The connection between high vaccination and faster recovery was highlighted by Gusto in two charts; one using new COVID cases from the weeks of June 7 and July 19 and the other using average vaccination rates from the week of June 7. Although growth varies throughout the nation, most small businesses in the service sector have seen some improvement.

Based on Gusto’s data, there may be a relationship between states where people are getting vaccinated and those seeing employment growth.

Those with low vaccination rates also appear to have lower growth. Mississippi in particular had a low vaccination rate in comparison to others, with an average of 27.9 per cent, based on data from the week of June 7. The state also saw a 2.3 per cent decline in headcount. Four of the 47 states actually saw employment declines, including Nebraska, which had a decline of 5 per cent from the week of June 7 to the week of July 19.

By contrast, Vermont reportedly stands out from the chart with its high average vaccination rate of 59.9 per cent. The state similarly had the largest employment increase among the 47 states between the week of June 7 and the week of July 19, at 17.1 per cent.

Gusto also showed a negative correlation between new COVID-19 cases and employment changes.

Tennessee stands out with a high number of new cases from the week of June 7 to the week of July 19, and employment growth of only 0.3 per cent during this period. Gusto said, “A 10 percentage point increase in new cases is correlated with a 0.1 percentage point slower rate of headcount growth.”

It is worth noting that the scatter plots show a correlation between the two, not a causal relationship.

The NFIB report found that a record 39 per cent of small businesses overall have increased compensation for workers. Employers across the US - particularly in the leisure and hospitality - sectors - have boosted pay to help recruit workers for vacant positions. According to Insider, small businesses are offering more voluntary benefits, such as pet insurance, as a way to incentivise new employees.

Not all small businesses require vaccinations; the practice varies by state. The Society for Human Resource Management’s analysis of Census small business pulse survey data found Georgia and Ohio were the two states least likely to require it.

Some job seekers may remain hesitant about returning to work in the wake of the Delta variant but new survey data from Indeed shows fewer unemployed workers surveyed in July cited concerns of COVID-19 as the reason they’re not urgently looking for work than those surveyed in June.

Source: News Nation USA