Page 12 - Georgia Forestry - Issue 4 - Fall 2022

LABOR
In Short Even as recession fears persisted this year, national employment numbers continued to rise, with the unemployment rate touching all-time lows. In May, Georgia saw the lowest unemployment rate in state history as it dipped just
Supply
Addressing the Labor Shortage in the Georgia Logging Industry
By John Casey
under 3%.
While the American worker is flush with opportunity,
employers are finding themselves at a loss to fill much- needed roles. There are more than two jobs available per every unemployed person in the U.S. Not only is there less available labor, but it’s more expensive. Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, hourly wages have increased by $3.
National employment numbers show that the workforce is continuing to grow older, with more and more workers age 60 and over choosing to continue to work rather than retire. At the other end of the scale, the number of workers under the age of 25 remains relatively unchanged. Looking at forestry in particular, more than 50% of the workforce is over 45 years old, compared to less than 15% between the ages of 25 and 34.
The Georgia forestry workforce has been continu- ously shrinking, but thanks to technology and advance- ments in industrial efficiency, production remains relatively constant. In the late 1990s, the state forestry industry was harvesting 48 million green tons with over 6,000 employees at a rate of roughly four tons per man
10 | GEORGIA FORESTRY
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