File Photo by Alan Olson A drive through The Highlands retail development in Ohio County illustrates the need for workers, as numerous businesses advertise that they’re hiring.

WHEELING — The data is still too raw to be sure, but anecdotal evidence suggests that — at least locally — the Great Resignation of 2021 is more like the opportunity of a lifetime for some workers.

“Every position that you could possibly think of has openings right now,” said Melissa Burke of IC Staffing Solutions, a recruiting agency with offices in Wheeling, Cambridge, Ohio and Washington, Pennsylvania.

“We see people leaving for $1 more an hour,” said Conishia Kusic, who recruits for the same company. “If the opportunity’s open and they hear it, they want to be a part of it.”

That might mean a retail worker leaving for a lower-level healthcare job, they explained. Or, a fast-food worker moving into a production/manufacturing position — that might be paying as much as $17 an hour.

Early statistics suggest such moves up are at least one element of an employment sea change that began in April 2021, just as COVID-19 vaccinations became widely available.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show the sectors that took the biggest “quit” hits between December 2020 and December 2021 were those whose worker pay has historically been low – specifically retail, leisure, hotel/motel and food service.

In West Virginia, specifically, data from the West Virginia Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) shows workers were less likely in 2020 to be leaving a job than they were in 2019.

But, beginning in the spring of 2021, there was a sharp rise in worker quits around the state. Except for a brief blip in early fall, state quits remained above those from 2019 — by thousands of jobs.

The state data on which specific job types saw the biggest exits is not yet available, according to Bonnie Swan, an employment programs specialist for Workforce WV. But, if low pay is the same driver in West Virginia as it appears to be in the U.S. statistics, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crunched by 24/7 Wall St. may be telling.

That analysis of 2019 wages showed that — before COVID-19 began torquing the economy — five of the 25 lowest-paid job types were in food service, while another six involved personal grooming or cleaning services ranging from sanitation workers to hotel maids and laundry employees.

Home healthcare and childcare workers also were low on the pay scale, according to the analysis. A diverse smattering of other jobs including farm workers, cashiers, warehouse workers and hotel desk clerks rounded out the list.

OPEN WALLET, OPEN DOOR

Locally, Kusic and Burke said it’s not only such low-pay sectors that have experienced quits and now have openings, however. As a result, they said local pay is rising across the board as businesses of all kinds are forced into competing with each other for workers.

They offered two examples. Healthcare hires are in such hot demand that even home healthcare workers — historically lower pay positions for which little to no training is required — are now making $10 to $13 an hour locally.

In production, or light manufacturing, they said jobs that were paying $9.50 to $12 an hour locally before the pandemic are now paying $13 to $17.

The women — who were fielding about 30 open positions as of last week — have also noticed an interesting trend among employers that previously required specific skill sets for new hires.

“They will basically take anyone and give them a chance,” Burke said of a move that shares some aspects with paid apprenticeships of the more distant past.

Kiley Lachendro, business manager for Weisenborn Plumbing of Bridgeport, affirmed that is the case with that small business.

“We’re pretty open to anyone who’s looking for a career move,” Lachendro said. With hourly pay currently negotiable, she said Weisenborn will train workers on the job.

“Once you know what you’re doing, there a lot of work around, a lot of money to be made,” Lachendro said of hoping to find hires who will stick to the task long enough to achieve both expertise and career viability.

Burke also noted some companies have even dropped bans on employees with criminal records. If it’s just a misdemeanor conviction, many doors are now open that weren’t in the past, she said.

What’s good news for workers eyeing a better situation or a career pivot, is a tough break for businesses, Lachendro noted. Weisenborn Plumbing does both interior plumbing and large exterior work such as the replacement of water mains — literally dirty jobs.

“It’s not easy to find someone who wants to do this kind of work,” she acknowledged, saying that now having to compete with food and retail establishments that have been forced into increasing wages is making things tougher.

Still, she’s hoping at least a worker or two will sense the possibility of a lifetime career over a short-term job.

“The work’s there. I just need workers,” Lachendro said, adding that outsourcing is never a concern for plumbers. “The work’s never going away.”