Taking it to the Next Level

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Sep 21, 2021

Taking it to the Next Level

It was a rainy Thursday night in Georgia, but that didn’t stop couples from gathering for a night of food and fun, and strengthening couples and marriages in their relationships. #ElevateCouples Pop-up Event was hosted by GCO’s Family team (formerly Healthy Families Initiative) as a time to emphasize the importance of romantic relationships and keeping them thriving. Over a meal, couples were engaged in a course appetizer for the Elevate: Taking Your Relationship To The Next Level! Workshop.

Elevate is offered to Georgia couples free of charge (as part of a partnership with University of Georgia and Project F.R.E.E.) as a time to invest in their marriage and relationships. The course is an eight week commitment from couples to discover ways to elevate their relationship to the next level. The course is offered in-person and virtually, and during this time couples are not in counseling, but lead through exercises to learn how to manage stress inside and outside of their relationship, conflict resolution, dealing with differences, and most importantly finding ways to connect to each other. It’s designed for couples of all ages (18 years old and up) who are in committed relationships and/or married.

The pop-up event allowed couples a VIP look at what the course has to offer and how they can benefit from it both emotionally and physically. The group was able to hear one of the facilitators talk about highlights of the program and the best part of the course which is seeing couples grow. It didn’t stop there; attendees also watched a recorded testimony from previous workshop participants who explained the teachings of Elevate, and how it had a ripple effect in their family. What they learned went beyond their own marriage, but allowed for a trickle down of knowledge and modeling behavior for their grandchildren to see an example of a healthy relationship.

To learn more about how you and your honey can Elevate, click here.

Better Work Access and Encourage Worker Freedoms

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Sep 14, 2021

Better Work Access and Encourage Worker Freedoms

HEADER - The Importance of the African American Family In Our History

The Manhattan Institute recently released a report arguing that now is a key time to reform our nation’s safety-net system. The goal should be not to offer more income guarantees but to minimize downside risk so that workers are able to move up the economic ladder. The report comes on the heels of new data from the U.S. government showing that inflation continued to run hot in August—the consumer price index rose 5.3% from a year before.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “The pandemic only heightened our awareness of existing issues, but the issues existed long before the pandemic,” said Erik Randolph, GCO’s director of research. “As such, we can’t let quick-fix solutions based on the current scenario be our only response. We do not need a stop-the-bleeding plan but systemic change that addresses long-standing issues.Policy prescriptions like simply raising the minimum wage ignore the main issue—wages not keeping up with inflation.

The need for changes that promote worker freedom and a sense of security that comes in work will drive markets and empower the actions of individuals. We should promote policies that open accessibility to better work access and encourage worker freedoms. We do this by creating a vibrant market where employers incentivize and compete for workers.”

Q&A with Hire Dynamics on challenges of hiring in 2021

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | May 20, 2021

Q&A with Hire Dynamics on challenges of hiring in 2021

April’s nonfarm payroll numbers came in at 266,000, well below the 1 million people forecasters estimated would be hired that month.

The low number wasn’t because there were a lack of jobs. There were 8.1 million open positions at the end of March. And it wasn’t due to a lack of people who need work. In April, there were 18.2 million people who received some form of federal unemployment assistance.

Hire Dynamics, a staffing and professional recruitment business that operates in the Atlanta area in addition to other locations across the U.S., has experienced the shortage of workers first hand. The following Q&A is an interview with Chuck Fallaw, regional manager for Hire Dynamics.

Q: Please explain what your business does / your focus

Hire Dynamics is a regional staffing agency headquartered in Atlanta GA. We focus on temp-to-hire staffing in the manufacturing, logistics/e-commerce, warehouse distribution, administrative, and call center verticals.

Q: What was hiring like prior to the pandemic?

Prior to the pandemic, we faced challenges with finding talent due to incredibly low unemployment. For example, in Nashville, TN where we had a 1.2% unemployment rate. Their pay rates were naturally rising due to the competition for talent. However, it was still much easier to fill positions than it has been over the last year and a half.

Q: How about during the pandemic?

Hiring during the pandemic was a unique challenge. Many of our clients are considered essential, so their need for talent never slowed down. Outside of true shutdowns, we were still able to fill some roles. That changed quite a bit in the last six months.

What we do matters.

Best of Staffing for Client & Talent Satisfaction by ClearlyRated – 11 years in a row:
Top 1% of more than 20,000 staffing companies
Continuously recognized as a Best Place to Work company throughout the Southeast
Superior client loyalty: client ratings 8 times higher and talent ratings 2.5 times higher than the industry average
Committed to and engaged with the communities we serve

Q: Right now, are you having trouble filling positions, and if so which ones?

Yes. All of them. Many of the manufacturers we work with are running around 50% of the workforce they typically employ. Obviously, this is tough on productivity, but it also leads to environments that are not as safe, elevated worker’s comp, and general morale issues among the employees. Light industrial staffing (at least in my region) has been the hardest hit. As I mentioned before, prior to the pandemic the economy was roaring, and talent was in demand. When the pandemic hit, those needs didn’t really go away, but the talent did.

Q: In what ways are you trying to recruit / attract employees in this environment?

Grassroots recruiting is very important right now. Getting in front of the talent and helping them get back into the workforce is a big part of what we are doing. We are doing drive-through job fairs, virtual job fairs, and massive recruiting events. In addition, we are coaching our clients on reducing barriers to entry, pay adjustments, and other ways to incentivize employees to come back.

EMPLOYMENT RESOURCES

SYSTEMIC WELFARE IN GEORGIA: PART 1 THE CASE FOR REFORM

In the first paper of our three-part series presenting a vision for systemic welfare reform in Georgia, we explore the need for a welfare system that starts with the assumption that natural support systems, including individual work and a reliance on family and community assistance, should be the primary sources of help when individuals face financial need. This report demonstrates how the current system does not meet these assumptions and points to the need for reform.

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SYSTEMIC WELFARE IN GEORGIA: PART 2 PRINCIPLES AND FRAMEWORK FOR REFORM

In the second paper of our three-part series presenting a vision for systemic welfare reform in Georgia, we explore the new system as we imagine it could be, give guiding principles, provide a general framework for how the reformed system can function, and establish preliminary steps needed to implement the vision.

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SYSTEMIC WELFARE IN GEORGIA: PART 3 HOW THE NEW SYSTEM WILL WORK

In the third and final paper of our three-part series presenting a vision for systemic welfare reform in Georgia, we propose the creation of new, consolidated program modules (including their structure, design, and expected outcomes) to replace current, disjointed programs. We go on to present a structure Georgia’s governor and executive agencies could adopt to effectively and in relatively short order implement a reformed system.

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A REAL SOLUTION FOR HEALTH INSURANCE AND MEDICAL ASSISTANCE REFORM

Medical assistance programs have long needed reforms to address high prices and lack of access. Despite the fact that federal policy tends to dominate medical assistance programs, states do have some flexibility to enact reforms. This study explores how states – and particularly Georgia – have flexibility and can experiment with Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to improve access, lower costs, and streamline the system to better serve those in need of assistance.

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HIRING WELL, DOING GOOD IN GEORGIA

Georgia has suffered from higher unemployment rates and lower high school graduation rates than the national average for many years. This report takes a look at the trends driving those problems and the potential solutions, including apprenticeships, that could lead to greater economic mobility for young adults.

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President Biden to reinstate the work search requirements for unemployment benefits

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | May 11, 2021

President Biden to reinstate the work search requirements for unemployment benefits

President Joe Biden has instructed the federal Department of Labor to work with state labor commissioners to reinstate the work search requirements for unemployment benefits.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “Detaching the work-search requirement from unemployment benefits served an important purpose during the worst of the pandemic, but that time is now long past,” said Buzz Brockway, GCO’s vice president of public policy. “This move by President Biden signals an important return to normal as the economy recovers and people get back to work. Indeed, in many counties across our state we’re seeing a surplus of jobs that pay a decent wage, with more openings than there are candidates actively looking. The safety-net is important, but it should be a temporary measure to get people back to work.”

Unemployment Figures for the U.S. Contrary to Analysts’ Expectations

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | May 7, 2021

Unemployment Figures for the U.S. Contrary to Analysts’ Expectations

At 8:30am today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released updated unemployment figures for the U.S. Contrary to analysts’ expectations, the U.S. unemployment rate increased for the first time since April 2020 to 6.1%.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “The April numbers clearly show that, sometimes, government actions meant to help people have unintended consequences,” said Buzz Brockway, GCO’s vice president of public policy. “Expansive unemployment benefits have prompted many low-skilled workers to remain on the sidelines of the labor force, while continued school closures across the country have prevented many women from re-entering the labor force due to a lack of childcare options. Undoubtedly, many workers are still concerned about catching COVID-19. The reasons for these lackluster employment numbers are varied, but what we do know is that the system designed to help those in need during these troubling times is, in fact, incentivizing dependence. If we believe work is vital not only for a paycheck but for a sense of purpose and belonging in life, then we must prioritize helping people find work and then get the training needed to ‘upskill’ into better, higher paying jobs. That is the best path for recovery. That is a path that respects those in crisis.”