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Teri Ooms, executive director of The Institute of Public Policy and Economic Development at Wilkes University, said recommendations that target the challenges posed by the pandemic and changing workforce landscape are explored in a recently released report by The Institute on Workforce Development in the face of COVID-19.
				&ldquo;The research provides a broader analysis of unemployment claim activity by industry and demographics, and describes likely post-pandemic workforce changes,&rdquo; Ooms said.
				Megan Stachowiak, Research Analyst, and Kara McGrane, Research Assistant, compiled the report on the impact of COVID-19 on workforce demographics.
				While the nation seeks to recover from the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, an analysis of unemployment claims data indicates certain segments, including women, younger workers, and some minority groups have been disproportionately impacted by job losses.
				&ldquo;Women have been leaving the labor force in much higher numbers than men since the pandemic began,&rdquo; Stachowiak said. &ldquo;Nationally, there are more than 2.5 million fewer women in the labor force than before the pandemic began, and the labor force participation rate for women, or the share of women working or looking for a job, fell from 57.9 percent in January 2020 to 55.6 percent in September.&rdquo;
				Some industries with higher concentrations of female employees, such as Retail Trade, Leisure and Hospitality, Government, and Education Services, were hardest hit with job losses. And a higher percentage of women have dropped out of the labor force, or are no longer looking for work. According to an analysis by the National Women&rsquo;s Law Center, of the nearly 1.1 million workers ages 20 and up who dropped out of the labor force between August and September, 80 percent were women.
				Stachowiak said part of the reason for this is that the pandemic has created even greater challenges for working parents, with some struggling to find child care and support their children&rsquo;s education as schools have increasingly moved to virtual learning environments.
				Due to the pay gap between men and women, in households where both parents work, Stachowiak said it often made more sense for women to stay home if someone needed to care for children or assist with homeschooling.
				And for single mothers, these challenges have been even greater. In addition to taking on increased childcare responsibilities, women have also been assuming the role of caregivers for elderly parents and family members affected by the pandemic. This has contributed, in part, to the high number of women scaling back their workloads or leaving the workforce.
				&ldquo;An analysis of regional unemployment claims illustrates how women in the workforce have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic,&rdquo; Stachowiak said. &ldquo;In Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, women accounted for more than half (51 percent) of the nearly 90,000 initial unemployment claims filed since March, compared to 49 percent for men. This represents a dramatic shift from 2019, when women accounted for only 37 percent of initial claims filed, while men represented 63 percent of initial claims.&rdquo;
				According to the study, since April, women have continued to represent the majority of the continued unemployment claims filed in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties. In early 2019 prior to the pandemic, women represented around one-third or less of continued unemployment claims filed in the region, while men accounted for the remaining two-thirds or more of continued claims.
				This shifted in April, when women accounted for the majority (54 percent) of continued unemployment claims. As the volume of continued unemployment claims in the region peaked in May at more than 56,000 claims, and then began tapering off to around 20,000 continued claims in October, women have continued to represent the majority of continued unemployment claim filers in the region.
				This sharp reversal from the pre-pandemic employment landscape illustrates the impact COVID-19 has had on working women.
				&ldquo;Pandemic-related job losses have also disproportionately impacted younger workers,&rdquo; Stachowiak said.
				She said statewide and in Lackawanna & Luzerne counties, the proportion of initial unemployment claims filed since March for workers ages 16-34 have exceeded their share of claims filed in 2019. The largest shift has been in claims filed by workers ages 20-24.
				In 2019, this age group accounted for seven percent of initial unemployment claims filed statewide and in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. Between March and October of 2020, this increased to 12 percent of claims filed statewide, and 10 percent of claims filed in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.
				While workers under age 35 accounted for a larger share of initial unemployment claims, older workers, particularly those ages 45-64, represent a smaller share of initial claims filed since March.
				Stachowiak pointed to the latest available regional data from the U.S. Census Bureau on employment status by race and ethnicity indicates that in 2018, more than 9 in 10 workers age 16 or older in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties were White/Caucasian.
				However, White workers represent a smaller share of initial unemployment claims filed both in 2019 and since the pandemic began in March 2020 relative to their share of the total workforce in the region, accounting for around 8 in 10 claims filed.
				While the Hispanic/Latino population represented eight percent of the region&rsquo;s workforce in 2018, they accounted for a larger share of initial unemployment claims filed in 2019 (11 percent). This has increased slightly since the pandemic began, with Hispanic/Latino workers accounting for 12 percent of initial unemployment claims filed.
				Similarly, while Black/African American workers comprised three percent of the region&rsquo;s workforce in 2018, they accounted for a slightly larger share (5 percent) of the initial unemployment claims filed in both 2019, and since March 2020.
				Non-white workers also represent an increasing share of continued unemployment claims in the region. In Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties, non-white workers accounted for 21 percent of continued employment claims in January 2020 prior to the pandemic.
				As of Oct. 17, this share has increased 32 percent of continued unemployment claims in the two counties combined. The largest shares of continued claims from non-white workers in both counties comes from Hispanic workers, who account for 19 percent of filers, and Black workers, who account for eight percent of filers. This illustrates that Hispanic and Black workers are more susceptible to job losses in the region, and this has continued during the pandemic.
				The pandemic&rsquo;s economic impact has shifted the demographic landscape of the workforce, and has the potential to disrupt the diversity of the workforce for the long-term, particularly for women in the workforce. However, Stachowiak said there are steps regional leaders can take to address these challenges and focus workforce development efforts on creating opportunities for these groups that have been adversely impacted.
				These include creating a human centered workforce approach that takes in account various stressors that can impact job performance and retention.
				&ldquo;This has become even more critical as workers deal with the economic, psychological and social impact of the pandemic, and working parents face increased challenges related to childcare and remote schooling of children,&rdquo; Stachowiak said. &ldquo;Offering flexible schedules, providing resources to help workers address these challenges, and checking in with workers about their workloads and well-being can provide much needed assistance to employees. In addition, childcare initiatives and job placement services that help parents, particularly single female households, find reliable childcare, will be key to helping workers re-enter the workforce.&rdquo;
				Stachowiak added that since our region is home to an increasing Hispanic population and a growing minority workforce that has been disproportionately impacted by job losses, it will also be critical to ensure equity in workforce development efforts. Partnering with other minority groups and local education institutions to provide further education and professional development targeted at minority workers can help them develop the skills needed in our region&rsquo;s workforce.

Study: Challenges posed by the pandemic and changing workforce landscape