Finding workers is major concern to some Northeast Ohio business leaders

Leaders from businesses of different sizes across the region shared that finding talent is a big concern for them, describing doing so as “a real challenge,” especially in certain industries such as skilled trades.

This sentiment corresponds to regional data and anecdotes collected by the Cleveland Fed’s research and community development teams in the November Beige Book, in which several workforce development contacts reported that demand for labor, particularly skilled labor, remained elevated.¹

Cleveland Fed research did show that, overall, the Fourth District’s labor market is healthy, with conditions easing from where they were in 2022 and 2023.² The Beige Book also showed that business activity in the Fourth District grew modestly in the weeks before publication and that contacts expected activity to increase more in the months ahead.³

These data correlate to the feelings of those at the Presidents’ Council meeting, where most participants shared by a show of hands that they were highly confident about the future of both the regional and national economies.

Hammack thanked everyone present at the meeting for their feedback and encouraged those there to contribute their data and insights to future editions of the Beige Book and also to participate in the Federal Reserve System’s Small Business Credit Survey, which the Cleveland Fed leads on behalf of the Reserve Banks.

About President Beth M. Hammack’s Around the District tour

President Hammack is visiting communities across the Fourth District as part of her Around the District tour to meet and connect with the people who live and work in all corners of the region and to gain a better understanding of how the economy is working in different communities. The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. Hammack will use this information to inform her policy views and better represent the Fourth District around the Federal Open Market Committee table.