The June Supply Management Research survey showed West Michigan’s industrial economy continued its recovery from the COVID-19 recession.
“Most of the firms right now are having difficulty hiring enough employees to fill all of the positions they have available.”
While the unemployment rate dipped a tenth of one percent to 5-percent from May to June there’s concern. Brian G. Long is director of Supply Management Research in the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University. He says some area firms have had to decline business orders due to that reason.
While that’s not a good thing, Long says statistically the business data remain positive.
“They’re all a little bit less since we hit our peak back in January, but that is typical of the recovery from just about any recession that we do hit a peak and then we settle back to whatever our new norm is going to be.”
Long is keeping an eye on inflation and how the business community transitions to working in the office and remotely. That will impact West Michigan’s office furniture makers. Area auto part suppliers continue to produce. However, the shortage of semiconductor chips is slowing automotive assembly and that disrupts the supply chain.