Business Update - Weekly Digest (September 29, 2021)
The legal cannabis industry has been absorbing furloughed, laid-off, and disenchanted retail and restaurant workers at a rapid pace throughout the pandemic. An estimated 321,000 people in the U.S. work in the industry, more than work as dentists, paramedics, or electrical engineers. Burnout, overwork, and challenges with unhappy customers in retail during the pandemic are driving many to seek out work in an industry with a growing reputation for treating its workers well. Many are finding better pay, more consistent hours, improved benefits, and more opportunities for advancement than in their previous positions.
TAX MATTERS
Have you been receiving confusing and erroneous letters from the IRS? You’re not alone, according to a recent report from the Tax Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The report looked at how well the IRS dealt with the challenges of the pandemic and its People First Initiative. TIGTA found that in the spring and early summer of 2020, the IRS sent out nearly 90,000 premature tax collection notices for taxes that were not actually yet due because of the COVID-19 extension for filing and payment to July 15, 2020. These notices were sent out erroneously because the IRS had not updated its usual process of mailing out collection notices for tax returns not received by April 15 of each year. While the IRS did include explanatory inserts in the envelopes notifying taxpayers that the notice may not have been correct, the incorrect notices caused confusion for many taxpayers and their advisors.
THE GREAT REASSESSMENT
With headlines announcing a record 10.9 million job openings with 8.4 million people seeking jobs, it should be relatively easy for job seekers to find new positions. However, that’s not the reality for many seeking new positions. Millions of those openings are for low-paying, labor-intensive jobs lacking benefits or are for part-time only positions, which may be rejected by those who left better-paying, full-time positions. A mismatch between skills and desires of prospective employees and the skills and offerings of employers is also contributing. Many people would prefer to continue working remotely, while many employers want workers back in the office. In addition, the rapid pace of technology changes can quickly lead to obsolete skills if people do not keep up with the latest software. Over reliance on software to screen applicants may inadvertently filter out the best candidates as job descriptions become ever-more complex and detailed.
REOPENING THE OFFICE AND REMOTE WORK OPTIONS
Meetings in a hybrid environment were hard, but meetings in a hybrid environment can be even harder as leaders will need to ensure that both the in-person and the remote participants have opportunities to contribute meaningfully. Sharing the agenda and any handouts beforehand helps bring focus. Make sure that people in the conference room and online participants are given equal attention and opportunities for participation by adding electronic whiteboards and monitoring online chat. Keeping technology simple makes it easy to start meetings on time. Choosing technology that allows remote participants to easily follow who is speaking in the conference room can also make meetings more productive.
ECONOMY
According to the Federal Reserve, U.S. household wealth rose to a record high of $141.7 trillion in the second quarter of 2021. Contributing factors are the increase in real estate values and stock prices.
Difficulties in finding enough workers to operate 24/7 in the busy Los Angeles and Long Beach ports is just one of the factors contributing to supply chain problems. Besides a shortage of workers, congestion at the ports from a pileup of containers makes it hard for drivers to navigate ports. Drivers can’t always find trucks or the chassis needed to transport shipping containers. With West coast warehouses full, some cargo owners are simply leaving their containers at the port as mobile storage. Moving to a 24/7 schedule at the ports and across all parts of the supply chain, including rail, trucking, and warehousing as is done in other parts of the world could alleviate the problem, but disagreements about scheduling on top of a shortage of workers have so far made that nearly impossible.
The fast-spreading delta variant of COVID-19 has slowed global economic recovery, but won’t stop it, according to the latest forecast from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Back in May, the OECD forecast that the U.S. economy would grow by 6.9% in 2021; that forecast has now been reduced to 6%. The rapid spread of the delta variant in Asian countries is contributing to shortages of manufactured goods and parts, which can lead to bottlenecks that result in shortages for retailers.
