COVID-19 small business employment
Almost half a million (492,715) people in the region filed for unemployment the 1st week they were allowed to. These numbers do not reflect the hundreds of thousands more such as independent contractors who don’t qualify for unemployment. Since then, due to more business being forced to close, the averages have increased. With several smaller businesses being forced to shutter their doors forever, there are yet thousands more scrambling to find ideas how to get decent employees back once they are allowed to open again.
The hiring process is often quite a lengthy and personal process involving placing ads and conducting face to face interviews involving handshakes etc. Furthermore, the turnover rate among establishments is generally high requiring the constant need to hire.