The Pandemic Highlights the Irony of Desires
What I learned during the Covid-19 pandemic: Be careful what you wish for!
Q2 2020
In 2019, and still in early 2020, when we were looking for locations with a good pipeline of eligible skilled employees, and when communities would boast that they had really low unemployment levels (at all-time lows of less than 3 percent in some jurisdictions), we jokingly wished that we could find communities with a qualified/skilled workforce and unemployment rates of 5+ percent. Fast forward three months into the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, and economists predict by the summer the U.S. will have jobless rates near historic highs of 20 percent.
With so many people unemployed, one may presume that employers could choose from the pick of the litter; however, in this unprecedented scenario, the future job market remains unclear. How many employees will return to their original jobs as their unemployment resulted from the mandated stay-at-home orders? How many job-seekers will be eligible to be hired? Will they have the required skillsets necessary for open manufacturing positions? Will they be able to pass drug tests?
[Prior to the pandemic] we jokingly wished that we could find communities with a qualified/skilled workforce and unemployment rates of 5+ percent. The Covid-19 pandemic public health emergency has created new and dynamic challenges on a myriad of levels. Facing tremendous unemployment and a looming recession, companies wonder how jurisdictions impacted by the shutdowns will prepare future job-seekers in a time of social distancing. Perhaps communities could start preparing the unemployed workforce by targeting them for additional remote skillset training? Can recently laid off hospitality and retail employees retool their customer service for other industries? How can jurisdictions help address the pain points of companies, such as overbill payables, and rent or mortgage expenses, as local economies slowly and safely reopen? Perhaps this is an opportunity to want to make wishes a reality; those jurisdictions finding solutions to these questions may have a leg-up on the competition moving forward. Only time will tell.
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Minah Hall, Managing Director, Compass Key Site Solutions
Minah Hall assists with site selection and negotiated tax incentives for companies at every stage of development, from Fortune 500, mid-sized, and start-up companies. With twenty years of experience providing strategic site selection guidance negotiating and implementing state and local tax incentives for distribution and manufacturing facilities, data centers, back office/call center operations, retailers, and corporate headquarter relocations, Ms. Hall creates benefits for companies making extraordinary expenditures. Involved in a number of Site Selection and Credits & Incentives related conferences, including the Institute of Professionals in Taxation, Ms. Hall is the Vice Chair of the Credits and Incentives Certification program and the former Chair of the C&I Symposium and Overall C&I Education. She is also a speaker for various national conferences including the Area Development Consultants Forum and Women in Economic Development Conferences. The Village of Long Grove appointed Ms. Hall an Economic Development Commissioner in 2018. She was named one of International Tax Review's 2016 & 2017 Women in Tax Leaders and is the 2016 IPT Instructor of the Year. Previously, Ms. Hall was Managing Director at a boutique tax consulting firm, and worked at Big-Four Firms in Chicago. She began her career at Arthur Andersen. Ms. Hall received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and is a Certified Credits & Incentives Professional (CCIP). She is licensed to practice law in Illinois.
